Something like "circle is narrow" (just total random)? For example I'm trapped by circumstances and don't know how to get away with that. Because every way of acting seems not to be good.
Thank you guys all! I did not expect I would get so much useful expressions! I wish I could accept all the answers! You put me in a tight spot choosing the best answer :)
In a tight spot — TFD
in a difficult situation
"If there is a shortage of fuel, everyone who drives to work will be in a tight spot."
"Bob's in a tight spot right now because he has fallen behind in his work."
In a bind — TFD
Fig. in a tight or difficult situation; stuck on a problem.
"I'm in a bind. I owe a lot of money. Whenever I get into a jam, I ask my supervisor for help."
"When things get busy around here, we get in a bind. We could use another helper."
Find oneself in troubled waters — M-W
a difficult or confusing situation
Between the devil and the deep blue sea — TFD
having only two very unpleasant choices
"Our country is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea - our leaders cause great suffering, but an invasion aimed at overthrowing them would bring many other problems."
This particular usage is common in several Indian languages, too.
Put someone in an awkward position — TFD
to make a situation difficult for someone; to make it difficult for someone to evade or avoid acting.
"Your demands have put me in an awkward position. I don't know what to do."
"I'm afraid I've put myself in sort of an awkward position."
You are caught between a rock and a hard place. Meaning, you are facing a decision, and feel that all of your choices will lead to difficulties.
Note that the same link offers similar expressions "between the devil and deep blue sea" and others. However, I think rock and hard place is more common in everyday use.
In a corner or cornered:
- A threatening or embarrassing position from which escape is difficult: got myself into a corner by boasting.
(AHD)
From The National : "Iran is cornered by sanctions: give it a face-saving way out"
- Well, "they" have indeed come, and five years later Iran finds itself cornered by an elaborate, multi-pronged, gradually escalating diplomatic and economic squeeze.
paint oneself into a corner
To do something which puts someone in a very difficult situation and limits the way that they can act I've painted myself into a corner here. Having said I won't take less than £20 an hour, I can't then be seen to accept a job that pays less. Cambridge Idioms Dictionary
[get oneself] up a tree
In a difficult situation. This expression alludes to an animal, such as a raccoon or squirrel, that climbs a tree for refuge from attackers, which then surround the tree so it cannot come down. [; early 1800s ]Random House
[get oneself] out on a limb
In a difficult, awkward, or vulnerable position. This expression alludes to an animal climbing out on the limb of a tree and then being afraid or unable to retreat. [Late 1800s] The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms
[get oneself] behind the eight ball
In a difficult situation. Etymology: from the game of pool (a game played on a special table with sticks and numbered balls), in which you do not want to have any ball positioned behind the black ball marked with a number 8. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms
[get oneself] in a box
Informal In a very difficult or restrictive situation. American Heritage® Dictionary
Up shit creek without a paddle
In an awkward situation or unpleasant predicament. The Phrase Finder
In an awkward position with no easy way out. The Free Dictionary
One further option that is in occasional use, and would likely be understood by native English speakers in the countries I have lived in (NZ, Australia, UK, Canada):
Hemmed in on all sides
Literally this refers to the act of sewing a hem in fabric (specifically folding cloth over and sewing it down). Figuratively, to be hemmed in on all sides would mean you have no means of escape, or at least no easy way out.
You could consider using in a fix/pickle/spot which means:
Also, in a pickle or spot . In a difficult or embarrassing situation, in a dilemma.
For example, I was really in a fix when I missed the plane, or Lost and out of gas-how did we get in such a pickle? or John had lost all his money in the crap game-now he was in a spot.
The first of these colloquial usages dates from the early 1800s; pickle in the sense of a mess or quandary, sometimes put as in a pretty pickle, dates from the 1500s; spot, also put as in a bad spot or tough spot , dates from the early 1900s.
[The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms]
AT BAY
Cornered, in distress, as in: Angry bystanders chased the thief into an alley and held him at bay until the police arrived .
This idiom originally came from hunting, where it describes an animal that has been driven back and now faces pursuing hounds. Its use for other situations dates from the late 1500s.
(from: thefreedictionary.com)
"Snookered", to use a term from... well... Snooker (or Pool)!
When all direct lines between the cue ball and a legal ball are blocked and you have to come up with a fancy move like bouncing off the cushion to get out of it. But it's sometimes used as an idiom in other situations...
You are on "Morton's fork":
- An argument used by John Morton in demanding gifts for the royal treasury: if a man lived well he was obviously rich and if he lived frugally then he must have savings.
1.1 A dilemma, especially one in which both choices are equally undesirable.
It may feel like the walls are closing in
(idiom) To enclose around; to tighten or shrink; to collapse. Sometimes it feels like the walls are closing in on me. (idiom) To catch up with in a chase; to near the end of a pursuit. The police closed in on the suspect.
I could only find a source for close in on, but often the implication is that you are out of good options and even your bad options are dwindling.
Old military terms:
Chess terms:
Google definition:
adjective
informal
in a difficult or hopeless situation; ruined or broken.
