Scylla and Charybdis used to refer to a situation involving two dangers in which an attempt to avoid one increases the risk from the other. literary
☞ In classical mythology, Scylla was a female sea monster who devoured sailors when they tried to navigate the narrow channel between her and the whirlpool Charybdis. In later legends, Scylla was a dangerous rock, located on the Italian side of the Strait of Messina, a channel which separates the island of Sicily from the 'toe' of Italy.