Example 1:
* Situation: A student is failing a class and has to choose between dropping it and risking their GPA or staying in the class and likely failing.
* Idiom: "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I drop the class, my GPA will suffer, but if I stay, I'll probably fail."
Example 2:
* Situation: A small business owner has to choose between raising prices to cover rising costs or risking losing customers to competitors who have lower prices.
* Idiom: "It's a tough decision. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. If I raise prices, I might lose customers, but if I keep them low, I'll lose money."
Explanation:
The idiom "between a rock and a hard place" describes a situation where someone is faced with two equally difficult or undesirable choices. There's no easy solution, and any choice they make will have negative consequences.