expression, i-adjective
stuck; in a bind; between a rock and a hard place
Describes a situation where one is completely stuck with no way out, often financially or in a dilemma. The expression is a fixed negative phrase; it is almost always used in the negative form にっちもさっちもいかない.
借金が返せなくて、にっちもさっちもいかない状態だ。
I can't repay my debts and am completely stuck.
仕事も家庭も問題だらけで、にっちもさっちもいかない。
With problems both at work and at home, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.
Similar meaning of being helpless or having no solution, but にっちもさっちもいかない emphasizes being trapped in a dilemma with no way forward or backward, often with a nuance of financial or practical deadlock.
Literally 'cannot move one's body'; used for being physically or situationally stuck. にっちもさっちもいかない is more idiomatic and often implies a hopeless predicament.
The phrase likely originates from the abacus terms 二進 (にしん, binary) and 三進 (さんしん, ternary), suggesting that no matter how you calculate, you cannot make it work. The exact derivation is uncertain, but the expression has been used since the Edo period to mean being at an impasse.