# fall between two stools

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/fall-between-two-stools
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.

## Examples

- 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.

## Origin

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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.