fall between two stools

fall between two stools

To be caught between two things and thus unable to adequately do or accommodate both. Primarily heard in UK. I was excited to start taking night classes after work, but now, without enough time to devote either to school or to my job, I feel like I'm falling between two stools. Come on, this project needs your full attention right now in order to be successful. I don't want you to fall between two stools trying to help the benefits team and our team. I know some people excel as utility players, but I really need to play the same position every day. For me, it's mentally exhausting to fall between two stools.

See also: between, fall, stool, two

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

fall between two stools

Fig. to come somewhere between two possibilities and so fail to meet the requirements of either. The material is not suitable for an academic book or for a popular one. It falls between two stools. He tries to be both teacher and friend, but falls between two stools.

See also: between, fall, stool, two

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

fall between two stools

or

be caught between two stools

mainly BRITISH

If someone or something falls between two stools or is caught between two stools, they are in an unsatisfactory situation because they do not belong to either of two groups, or because they are trying to do two different things at once and are failing at both. Young people on waiting lists for youth training fall between two stools. They can't get unemployment benefit, nor can they get the allowance for the scheme they're waiting to get on. Devo's problem as a band has always been that they are caught between the two stools of art and pop.

See also: between, fall, stool, two

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

fall between two stools

fail to be or to take one of two satisfactory alternatives. British

This phrase comes from the proverb between two stools one falls to the ground , first referred to in English by the medieval writer John Gower in Confessio Amantis ( c .1390 ).

See also: between, fall, stool, two

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

fall between two ˈstools

(British English) not be successful, acceptable, etc. because it is neither one thing nor another: The book falls between two stools. It’s neither a love story nor a crime story.

See also: between, fall, stool, two

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

fall between (the) two stools

To fail because of an inability to reconcile or choose between two courses of action.

See also: between, fall, stool, two

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.