8,347
edits
Scylla and Charybdis: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (clean up) |
No edit summary |
||
Line 13:
The trope name refers to the two sea monsters of [[Greek Mythology]] which trapped sailors between them, making it [[Older Than Feudalism]]. Scylla was a [[Shapeshifter Mashup]] that ate sailors, and Charybdis a whirlpool that swallowed ships.
Often [[Why Didn't You Just Say So?|dumbed down]] to "a rock and a hard place". See also [[Morton's Fork]] for the conundrums more like "Scylla or another head of the same Scylla".
{{examples}}
Line 42:
* ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'': Raymond found himself in the middle of conflicts between his wife, Debra, and his family—especially his overbearing mother—on an almost episodic basis.
** Another ''Raymond'' example: At one point, Debra runs for president of the neighborhood co-op opposite [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis|long-time arch-rival]] Parker. Although Raymond loves Debra and hates Parker, he realizes that Parker would make a better president.
* ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts|Sabbat Martyr]]'' has Warmaster Macaroth facing an old military dilemma: if his forces stay overstretched, they are vulnerable to a flank attack, and if he protects the flanks and communications at the cost of weakening pressure on the active front, the enemy may regroup and counterattack.
{{quote|Either option seemed cursed with failure. Macaroth simply had to decide which one to risk. Famously, he showed one of his generals two identical cups of wine and asked him to pick one. “One is elixir, one is poison,” he said. “How can I tell them apart?” the general asked. “By taking one up and tasting it,” replied the Warmaster."}}
| |||