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caught in the middle

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caught in the middle

to experience the influence of opposing groups in a disagreement caught in the crossfire My mother and sister are always yelling at each other, and I find myself caught in the middle.

Related vocabulary: in the cross hairs

See also: caught, middle

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.

See also: caught, middle