Learn English – the word for describing a thing right at the edge

metaphorsword-request

Let's say I have something like a laptop or a mobile phone which has got comparable positive features and negative features and it is very difficult for me to decide whether it is overall good or bad.

Is there any word describing this thing?

Best Answer

There's the idiom sitting on the fence (sometimes said as straddling the fence).

This idiom is often used to describe someone who is having trouble taking sides in a controversial issue, but it can also refer to someone who is simply having trouble making a decision about something.

Which laptop are you going to get?
I don't know - I'm sitting on the fence.

Phrase Finder defines it as:

sit on the fence (Figurative) not to take sides in a dispute; not to make a clear choice between two possibilities; to delay making a decision when you have to choose between two sides in an argument or a competition. (Origin: the image of someone straddling a fence, representing indecision.)

You can read a few examples usages at this website. Sometimes the expression is used negatively, though. Wikipedia mentions:

"Sitting on the fence" is a common idiom used in English to describe one's neutrality, hesitance to choose between two sides in an argument or a competition, or inability to decide due to lack of courage. This is done either in order to remain on good terms with both sides, or due to apathy to the situation and not wanting to choose a position they don't actually agree with.

Another word you could use instead is undecided, or torn:

Which laptop are you going to get?
I don't know - I'm torn.

Collins defines this word as:

torn (adj.) divided or undecided, as in preference ⇒ he was torn between staying and leaving

The word torn implies a reluctance to choose because there are aspects of both possibilities that are equally appealing (or unappealing).

Related Topic