tear between

tear between

v.
To put someone in the position of having to choose between some equally desirable or undesirable options or loyalties. Used chiefly in the passive: The soldier was torn between staying on duty or going home.
See also: between, tear
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • in a cleft stick
  • put (someone or something) in a hole
  • lesser of two evils
  • the lesser of two evils
  • leave (someone, something, or oneself) (wide) open to (something)
  • leave open
  • leave yourself wide open to something
  • quit
  • (someone) (just) doesn't know when to quit
  • desperate diseases must have desperate remedies