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on the horns of a dilemma

Cultural  
  1. To be divided between two seemingly equal options and to be undecided as to which option to choose: “When Mary was offered two equally attractive jobs, she found herself on the horns of a dilemma.”


on the horns of a dilemma Idioms  
  1. see horns of a dilemma.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mattis studied Sherman’s March to the Sea at the end of the Civil War, looking for insight on how “to always keep enemies on the horns of a dilemma, left or right, front or back.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 4, 2019

The response to Zootopia reminds us that zoos today are caught on the horns of a dilemma regarding their relationship with the wilderness.

From Slate • Mar. 3, 2016

Such people will soon be impaled on the horns of a dilemma if Johnathan Napier of Rothamsted Research, an agricultural establishment in southern England, has his way.

From Economist • Jul. 9, 2015

If inflation strengthens, however, the Fed could find itself on the horns of a dilemma.

From New York Times • May 30, 2014

The romancer, in choosing as the setting for a tale the period of a man who looms large in history, finds himself on the horns of a dilemma.

From With Drake on the Spanish Main by Strang, Herbert