In a very tight and awkward situation; stalled by a dilemma; in a box: I'm in a bind, damned if I do and damned if I don't
[1940s+ Loggers; fr the situation of a logger whose saw is caught and held tight by the weight of a tree or branch]
Idioms and Phrases with in a bind
in a bind
Also, in a box or hole or jam or tight corner or tight spot. In a difficult, threatening, or embarrassing position; also, unable to solve a dilemma. For example, He's put us in a bind: we can't refuse, but at the same time we can't fill the order, or Jim's in a box; he can't afford to pay what he owes us, or He quit without giving notice and now we're really in a hole, or We always end up in a jam during the holiday season, or He's in a tight corner with those new customers, or We'll be in a tight spot unless we can find another thousand dollars. All these colloquial terms allude to places from which one can't easily extricate oneself. The phrase using bind was first recorded in 1851; box, 1865; jam, 1914; tight spot, 1852. Also see in a fix