What is the meaning of Doolittle’s statement that “it’s a choice between the Skilly of the workhouse and the Char Bydis of the middle class”? (Act 5)

Dolittle is broke..... he is left with the choice of going to the workhouse and eating skilly (a watery oatmeal soup) or the middle class. This is an idiom for having to choose between two evils, which originates in Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis.