fall between two stools

Verb

fall between two stools (third-person singular simple present falls between two stools, present participle falling between two stools, simple past fell between two stools, past participle fallen between two stools)

1. (idiomatic, issues, problems, items) To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.
   • Unfortunately, it fell between two stools: it was not good enough to be a competition car and those who wanted a roadburner preferred the Iso Grifo, which was better equipped.1996, Mike Lawrence, A to Z of Sports Cars, 1945-1990
   • Even Henry's will embodies that suspension between two poles, or falling between two stools, which characterises so much of his church's history from the point.2006, Richard Rex, Henry VIII and the English Reformation
2. (idiomatic) To attempt two roles and fail at both, when either could have been accomplished singly.
   • “[…] She Dido] could not bear to lose the land she had got by a swindle; and then she could not bear the loss of her lover. So she fell between two stools. […]”1857, Anthony Trollope, “Barchester Towers”, in The Century Co., published 1902, page 252
   • Failing to get rid of the old love Medea] before taking on the new—in other words, wasting his strength over a new and untried method before having fully established the old—he Jason] fell between two stools.1910, Sydney Humphries, Oriental Carpets, Runners and Rugs and Some Jacquard Reproductions, READ BOOKS, published 2010, →ISBN, page 22