to experience the influence of opposing groups in a disagreement caught in the crossfireMy mother and sister are always yelling at each other, and I find myself caught in the middle.
Also, caught in the cross-fire. Between two opposing sides, as in The writers are often caught in the middle between editor and publisher, who are political opponents , or When parents don't get along, the children are often caught in the cross-fire. Long used in military situations, these terms began to be used figuratively in the second half of the 1800s.