fall between two stools
To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“This movie falls between two stools — not funny or serious enough.”
“Your plan falls between two stools because it is not fast or cheap.”
“The product was too expensive for students but too basic for professionals, so it fell between two stools.”
“The new apartment complex falls between two stools because it is too far from the city center for workers but lacks the quiet atmosphere that retirees usually want.”
“Caught between the avant-garde and the commercial, her second novel fell between two stools, pleasing neither critics nor readers.”
first recorded 14th c.
The expression originates from a mediaeval Latin proverb, *labitur enitens sellis herere duabus*, describing the physical consequences for a man who attempts to sit on two seats at once. The image is one of structural over-ambition leading to a loss of dignity.
By 1390, the sentiment had been translated into the English proverb "Between two stools, one falls to the ground." The term survives as a description of a failure to choose between two alternatives, resulting in a firm encounter with the floor.
- 01
beast with two backs
Two people united in sexual intercourse in the missionary position.
- 02
catch a falling knife
To buy a financial instrument whose price is falling rapidly.
- 03
eat for two
To be pregnant
- 04
fall apart
To be emotionally in crisis.
- 05
fall around
To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- 06
fall asleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
- 07
fall at the last hurdle
To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.
- 08
fall behind
To be late (for a regular event)
Last updated August 10, 2026