Where did that phrase come from? A rock and a hard place

Back during the Great Depression in the early 20's, work was hard to come by and those hiring at the time weren't paying much. So when Minors complained about low pay for tough long hours and dangerous conditions, the owners threatened to fire them and hire others in their place.

After all, workers weren't hard to find in that day and time.

So for the minors it was back to the mines "rock" or unemployment "hard place" and though neither choice was appealing they were stuck in the middle to make a decision.

They were in between a rock and a hard place.

And now you know!