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The meaning of this saying literally is: Between saying and doing there is the sea which figuratively means: There's a world of difference between saying and doing.
The literal meaning of this, according to Google is that, in the 17th century, "the devil" referred to the garboard seam—the longest, hardest-to-reach seam in a wooden ship's hull that required precarious repairs. A sailor hanging overboard to caulk this seam faced the terrifying risk of drowning if they slipped into the deep blue sea.
The saying has been heavily used across music, painting, literature and theatre drama and one use that I now recall is The Deep Blue Sea 1952 stage play by Terence Rattigan. I haven't seen the stage version of this but did see the excellent 2011 film version starring the wonderful Rachel Weisz which I gather is a stripped down version of Rattigan's original. While the homosexual undercurrent is removed Weisz and the director Terence Davies capture the heroine, Hester Collyer's vulnerability as Rattigan intended. Caught between her relationship with her ex husband (a High Court judge) and her failing affair with her lover (an alcoholic ex RAF pilot) she is between the devil and the deep blue sea. Floundering between physical dislocation and emotional isolation Hester attempts suicide, unsuccessfully and is left to try and make a go of living even if her new circumstances and surroundings are bleak. Rachel Weisz's performance was visceral and her pain and desperation bled out of the screen. It was very memorable.
That's good and I like the use of imagery in language. It beats the often vulgar and scatological references Richard uses.
It reminds me of the idiom: Between the devil and the deep blue sea that means you are stuck in a difficult dilemma being forced to choose between two equally unpleasant or dangerous options.
The saying has been heavily used across music, painting, literature and theatre drama and one use that I now recall is The Deep Blue Sea 1952 stage play by Terence Rattigan. I haven't seen the stage version of this but did see the excellent 2011 film version starring the wonderful Rachel Weisz which I gather is a stripped down version of Rattigan's original. While the homosexual undercurrent is removed Weisz and the director Terence Davies capture the heroine, Hester Collyer's vulnerability as Rattigan intended. Caught between her relationship with her ex husband (a High Court judge) and her failing affair with her lover (an alcoholic ex RAF pilot) she is between the devil and the deep blue sea. Floundering between physical dislocation and emotional isolation Hester attempts suicide, unsuccessfully and is left to try and make a go of living even if her new circumstances and surroundings are bleak. Rachel Weisz's performance was visceral and her pain and desperation bled out of the screen. It was very memorable.
The theme was obviously of Britain and its struggles to rebuild after the horrors and losses of the Second World War. Societal changes and loss of empire were new challenges that, however unpalatable they were, had to be accepted.
