out of the frying pan into the fire; one calamity after another
A yojijukugo meaning that escaping one danger only leads to another; literally 'tiger in front, wolf in back'. Used in literary or formal contexts.
In a situation where you're caught between a rock and a hard place, whichever way you go is dangerous.
彼は前虎後狼の人生を送ってきた。
He has led a life of one calamity after another.
A more colloquial expression with the same meaning, literally 'one trouble leaves and another comes'.
Means 'adding insult to injury' or 'misfortunes never come singly', but focuses on piling on rather than escaping one danger into another.
A yojijukugo of Chinese origin, combining 前 (front), 虎 (tiger), 後 (back), and 狼 (wolf). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it is conventionally associated with the idea of facing a tiger in front and a wolf behind, symbolizing inescapable danger.