顾此失彼

顾此失彼 [gù cǐ shī bǐ]

1. ■ care for this and lose that; attend to one thing and lose sight of another; cannot attend to one thing without neglecting the other; be put in a double squeeze; unable to attend to everything at once; unable to hit one without losing hold of the other; unable to cope with one without letting go of the other; unable to attend to all one's troubles; unable to grab [take hold of] one without losing hold of another; have too many things to take care of at the same time