Scylla

American  

[sil-uh] / ˈsɪl ə /

noun

1. Modern Name Scilla.  a rock in the Strait of Messina off the S coast of Italy.

2. Classical Mythology. a sea nymph who was transformed into a sea monster: later identified with the rock Scylla.

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idioms

1. between Scylla and Charybdis, between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering and probably falling victim to the other.

Scylla British  

/ ˈsɪlə /

noun

1. Greek myth a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster believed to drown sailors navigating the Strait of Messina. She was identified with a rock off the Italian coast Compare Charybdis

2. in a predicament in which avoidance of either of two dangers means exposure to the other

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Scylla More Idioms  

1. see between a rock and a hard place (Scylla and Charybdis).

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Example Sentences

Trainer Bill Mott only brought two horses to the Breeders’ Cup, Sovereignty and Scylla.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2025

I don’t expect you to say “between Scylla and Charybdis” but could you please say “between a rock and a whirlpool” instead?

From Seattle Times • May 1, 2022

In other words, the middle path, the tightrope walk, the threading of Scylla and Charybdis.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2022

She steers ably between the Scylla of cynicism and the Charybdis of romanticism, achieving an authentically original voice and, perhaps more startlingly, an authentically original perspective.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2022

A sea peril next awaited them—the passage between Scylla and Charybdis.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton