Definition

1. Noun:
   • (Greek mythology) A sea monster: Scylla is a mythological creature, originally a sea nymph, who was transformed into a monster with multiple heads. She dwelled on one side of a narrow sea channel.
   • Part of a proverbial danger: Scylla is famously paired with the whirlpool Charybdis, representing an inescapable peril where avoiding one danger leads directly into the other.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Odysseus had to navigate between Scylla and Charybdis.
  • The myth warns that Scylla would snatch sailors from passing ships.

Advanced Usage

• "Between Scylla and Charybdis": A proverbial phrase meaning to be caught between two equally dangerous or unacceptable alternatives, with no safe course of action.
  • The politician was caught between Scylla and Charybdis, having to choose between angering his base or alienating swing voters.

Variants and Related Words

• Charybdis (n): The whirlpool monster opposite Scylla, completing the proverbial pair of dangers.

Synonyms

• Peril: A source of immediate danger.
• Hazard: A potential source of danger.
• Jeopardy: Danger of loss, harm, or failure.

Related Idioms

• "Between a rock and a hard place": A modern idiom with a meaning very similar to "between Scylla and Charybdis," denoting a dilemma with two unpleasant choices.
• "Out of the frying pan and into the fire": An idiom for moving from a bad situation to one that is worse, related conceptually to the inescapable peril of the Scylla and Charybdis strait.

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster who lived on one side of a narrow strait; drowned and devoured sailors who tried to escape Charybdis (a whirlpool) on the other side of the strait