between you and me and the bedpost/gatepost/four walls/lamppost In strictest confidence.

This elaboration of just between you and me is often followed by gossip about someone else. The bedpost version dates from the early nine- teenth century and was used by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Eugene Aram, 1832: “Between you and me and the bedpost, young master has quarrelled with old master”), Dickens, and others. The lamppost version may be a little older, but is not much heard anymore.

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between the devil and the deep blue sea

A choice between two evils. A term dating back to the early seventeenth century, it referred not to the devil of hellfire and brimstone but to a seam around a ship’s hull near the waterline. A sailor attempting to caulk this seam in heavy seas was in danger of falling overboard and drowning. The term was used figuratively—to mean any dilemma in which one faced danger—from that time on. It became a cliché about the middle of the eighteenth century.

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between Scylla and Charybdis

A choice between two evils. In Homer’s Odyssey (c. 850 B.C.) the hero must sail a narrow passage between Scylla, a monster on a rock, and Charybdis, a fatal whirlpool. If he avoids one evil, he must run into the other. This situation was repeated figuratively by writ- ers from Virgil to Shaw (Pygmalion, 1912: “It’s a choice between the Skilly of the workhouse and Char Bydis of the middle class”).

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between a rock and a hard place

Faced  with  a  choice  between  two unpleasant alternatives, or two evils. A newer version of BETWEEN THE  DEVIL AND THE  DEEP  BLUE  SEA  and the classic BETWEEN  SCYLLA  AND  CHARYBDIS, this expression is American in origin and dates from the early twentieth century.

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better safe than sorry

Proceed carefully so as to be sure to get there. This  cautionary  formula  dates  from  the  early  nineteenth  century, when  it was phrased “better sure than sorry,” and became a cliché in the mid-twentieth century. The idea, of course, is much older. Thomas Ravenscroft in 1695 wrote, “It’s good to be sure.”

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better mousetrap, (if one can) build a

A minor but important improvement will bring fame and fortune. This idea came from a speech Ralph Waldo Emerson made in 1871 and quoted (or misquoted) by Mrs. Sarah S. B. Yule. Emerson allegedly said, “If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor . . . the world will make a beaten path to his door.”

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better late than never

A time-honored rationalization for tardiness. It can be traced to Greek and Latin writers, including the historian Livy, and appears in several early English proverb collections. The full proverb is sometimes stated, “Better late than never, but better never late.” There are versions in numerous other languages as well.

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