進退維谷

进退维谷
jìntuìwéigǔ
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation

CEDICT

between a rock and a hard place

Wiktionary

谷，比喻困境。進退維谷形容處於進退兩難的境地。

重編國語辭典

形容前進後退都無路可走的困窘處境

維基詞典

Entry Composition

1 進退 jìntuì
  1. to advance or retreat
  2. knowing when to come and when to leave
  3. a sense of propriety
2 維 wéi
  1. to preserve
  2. to maintain
  3. to hold together
  4. dimension
  5. vitamin (abbr. for 維生素 wéishēngsù)
=3 谷 gǔ
  1. grain
  2. corn
=3 谷 gǔ valley

Related entries

進退兩難 jìntuìliǎngnán
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation
進退為難 jìntuìwéinán
  1. no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma
  2. trapped
  3. in an impossible situation
受困 shòukùn
  1. trapped
  2. stranded
許多勞動者受困在煤礦場中。

Many workers were trapped in the coal mine.

Source: Tatoeba

羊觸藩籬 yángchùfānlí
  1. lit. billy goat's horns caught in the fence (idiom from Book of Changes 易經); impossible to advance or to retreat
  2. without any way out of a dilemma
  3. trapped
  4. in an impossible situation
羝羊觸藩 dīyángchùfān
  1. lit. billy goat's horns caught in the fence (idiom from Book of Changes 易經); impossible to advance or to retreat
  2. without any way out of a dilemma
  3. trapped
  4. in an impossible situation