Sophie's Choice
A dilemma in which a person must choose between two equally terrible options, where any choice results in an unbearable loss.
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Origin
The phrase comes from William Styron's 1979 novel Sophie's Choice, in which a Polish Catholic woman in Auschwitz is forced by an SS officer to choose which of her two children will be sent to the gas chamber. The novel won the 1980 U.S. National Book Award and was adapted into a 1982 film starring Meryl Streep, whose performance cemented the phrase in popular culture.
Updated February 22, 2026