pig/piggy in the middle

pig in the middle

1. Someone who is placed in the middle of an argument between two other people or groups, and who doesn't want to side with either one of them. Primarily heard in UK. As a kid, I always felt like a pig in the middle when my parents started fighting. The infighting at the company has made our department pig in the middle between the management and the financial team.

2. A game in which one person attempts to gain possession of a ball or other object that two or more people attempt to keep away from them. Primarily heard in UK. Whenever my brother's friends are over, the only game they'll play with me is pig in the middle—and I'm always the pig!

See also: middle, pig

piggy in the middle

1. Someone who is placed in the middle of an argument between two other people or groups, and who doesn't want to side with either one of them. Primarily heard in UK. As a kid, I always felt like I was piggy in the middle when my parents started fighting. The infighting at the company has made our department piggy in the middle between the management and the financial team.

2. A children's game in which a ball or other object is kept away from one person by two or more other people. Primarily heard in UK. Whenever my brother's friends are over, the only game they'll play with me is piggy in the middle—and I'm always the piggy!

See also: middle, piggy

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

piggy in the middle

BRITISH

If someone is piggy in the middle, they are involved in a situation where two people or groups are having an argument and they have to deal with or help both sides. I was piggy in the middle, caught between my parents, not wanting to hurt either of them. Note: `Piggy in the middle' is a children's game in which two children throw a ball to each other over the head of a third child who tries to catch it.

See also: middle, piggy

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

pig (or piggy) in the middle

a person who is placed in an awkward situation between two others. chiefly British

This expression comes from the name of a game in which two people attempt to throw a ball to each other without a third person in the middle catching it.

See also: middle, pig

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

(be) pig/piggy in the ˈmiddle

(informal) (be) a person who is caught between two people or groups who are fighting or arguing: Her parents quarrelled a lot, and unfortunately she was always piggy in the middle.

This is the name of a children’s game where two children throw a ball to each other, and a third child in the middle tries to catch it.

See also: middle, pig, piggy

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017