monkey in the middle
1
7.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
el que está en medio
- During the meeting, she was caught as a monkey in the middle, trying to mediate between the conflicting opinions of her colleagues.
Examples
-
We were just playing monkey in the middle.
-
As the two friends argued, I felt like a monkey in the middle, unsure of which side to support.
-
He didn't want to be a monkey in the middle during the disagreement between his parents.
How Influential
- Specialized
19
6.7
45
4.0
11
4.9
- Informal
1
7.8
84
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The spatial phrase 'in the middle' clearly signals being between two sides, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer a central or intervening role; however 'monkey' functions metaphorically (from the children's game) and does not literally add the relational meaning, making the overall sense only partly predictable. Because the animal term is used figuratively and the idiomatic extension to being unable to influence an outcome requires some cultural/pragmatic knowledge, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Monkey in the middle comes from a children's game where a child, the monkey, stands in the middle while two others throw a ball and try to get it past them. That's why the phrase means 'a person caught between two sides', someone who is stuck and cannot control the result.