Caught in the Crossfire

Posted on the 03 March 2023 by Idioms

Meaning

  • suffer harm or damage inadvertently because of the conflict between other individuals or groups.
  • being placed in the middle of an argument awkwardly.
  • be badly affected by a situation where two people or groups are arguing with each other.

Example Sentences

  1. Jane was proven innocent since she was only caught in the crossfire.
  2. When parents disagree, children are often caught in the crossfire.
  3. He excused himself when he suspected that he would be caught in the crossfire.
  4. Fake friends usually make others get caught in the crossfire when they are in trouble.
  5. Our county governor was caught in the crossfire during the parliament's debate.
  6. The referee was caught in the crossfire since the team played a rough game.
  7. The mistake of Susan's colleagues caught her in the crossfire, and she was unable to pardon herself.
  8. The prefect was caught in the crossfire in the current cases of indiscipline.
  9. When parents fight over trivial matters, their children are often caught in the crossfire.

Origin

The origin is not vividly recorded, but in ancient times, during crises such as wartime, stray bullets were all over. The idiom traces its origin to gun use. Some people who were probably innocent were caught in the crossfire by accident. The phrase became common from then on.

Some authors and artists have used the phrase in their work. For example, in 1980, John Wetton (a rock musician) he released the love song to show how he fell in love immaturely when he was young and ended up as a man who walks alone. David Drake, an author, also published the novel " Caught In The Crossfire " on July 1, 1998.