Wiktionary
prep.phr. 1 (cx idiom US) To be bankrupt. 2 (cx: idiom) To be in a difficult and inescapable position. 3 (context idiomatic English) Having the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
Wikipedia
Between a Rock and a Hard Place is the autobiography of Aron Ralston. Published in 2004, the book predominantly recounts Ralston's experience being trapped in Blue John Canyon in the Utah desert and how he was forced to amputate his own right arm with a dull multi-tool in order to free himself after his arm became trapped by a boulder. Inc. magazine named Ralston's account one of seven "great entrepreneurship books that have nothing to do with business."
The book also describes Ralston's childhood, how he took up outdoor activities after moving to Colorado from Indiana, how he came to be an obsessive outdoorsman and how he left his engineering career at Intel in Arizona to take up outdoor activities as much as possible.
The book goes back and forth, in alternating chapters, between Ralston's past experiences and his entrapment in the slot canyon, and the efforts of his mother to find him. Included in some editions are pictures of his days in the canyon, various photos from the past excursions he speaks of in the book, a glossary of mountaineering jargon, and maps of Blue John Canyon and the proximity of the canyon in central-eastern Utah.
Ralston's ordeal is also the subject of the 2010 film 127 Hours, starring James Franco and directed by Danny Boyle. Since the film's release, the autobiography has also been sold with the title 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place was the final studio album from Australian rock band Australian Crawl. It was produced by English producer Adam Kidron ( Ian Dury, Cabaret Voltaire, Aztec Camera). The album was initially released by Freestyle Records on vinyl and reached #11 on the ARIA album charts but slipped out of the top 40 two weeks later. The album was subsequently re-released on CD in 1997.
When the album virtually failed to chart, the band was ready to split but had to go out on tour for the next year to pay off the enormous $400,000 cost of producing the album. After completing their national tour of Australia in January, 1986, the band split up. Australian Crawl released a successful live album, The Final Wave, on the Freestyle Record label, towards the end of October, 1986.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place may refer to:
- Between a rock and a hard place, an adage used to refer to a dilemma, more specifically a Morton's fork; a situation offering at least two possibilities, neither of which is acceptable
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Artifacts album)
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Australian Crawl album)
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place (book), an autobiography by Aron Ralston