Being stuck between a rock and a hard place might have first gained conceptual traction when Homer put Odysseus between Scylla (a six-headed monster) and Charybdis (a whirlpool).
On one side lay Scylla; on the other
divine Charybdis terrified us all,
by swallowing salt water from the sea.
When she spewed it out, she seethed and bubbled
uncontrollably, just like a cauldron
on a huge fire, while high above our heads
the spray rained down on top of both the cliffs.
There’s Homer. Then there’s Pillgreen.
As an example of fine distinctions, a party of men were discussing the present situation of the German army, this week. One remarked that the Germans were between the devil and the deep sea; while another corrected him by saying that the Germans were between the upper and nether mill stone The third man whose name is Pillgreen, and who works in the treasurer’s office, simply remarked that the Germans were between a rock and a hard place. Here’s hoping that all three versions are in the main correct, so as to end the war.
Locals and Personals, published in The Poteau Weekly Sun (Poteau, Oklahoma, USA) of Thursday 1st October 1914:
That via wordhistories.net.
Odysseus chose Scylla, by the way.