Er sitzt zwischen den Stühlen.

Sentence Discussions German
#1
English Translation

He is sitting between the chairs.

He is caught between two stools.Can someone explain to me how this english translation makes sense please:“He is caught between two stools.” Is this a saying in German?Does “Er sitzt zwischen den Stühlen.” not translate to “He is sitting/sits between the chairs/stools/etc.” caught implies that he is stuck or was caught by someone while running and he was caught between the chairs, or he caught his shirt on something between the two chairs, or he was caught in the act while he happened to be between two chairs.I am changing the english translation, I saying this now to avoid confusion

#2

It is a fixed expression “zwischen den Stühlen sitzen” or, more common “zwischen zwei Stühlen sitzen”.
The nearest thing in English that comes to my mind is:
“He is caught between a rock and a hard place”.
Maybe someone has something better?

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#3

This describes a person who immobilized because he can’t decide which of two options to choose. That is, currently he isn’t actually sitting anywhere, but wishes he were because that’s not a good state to be in.

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#4

I’ve heard the term “analysis paralysis”.

#5

Ah, so it is a fixed expression. Thank you