être dos au mur
Meaning: To be in a desperate situation with no way to retreat or escape.
Language: French
Literally: to be back to the wall
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The image is of a person cornered with their back literally against a wall, forced to confront what lies ahead.
More idioms — Daily Life
- chercher des misères — To deliberately provoke a quarrel with someone.
- retourner à la case départ — To find oneself back where one began, as if no progress had been made.
- sentir la naphtaline — To be old-fashioned or antiquated.
- passer maître — To become the foremost expert in something.
- courir après les cotillons — To pursue amorous or romantic adventures.
- avoir de la tchatche — To be talkative and persuasive, to have the gift of gab.
More French idioms
- se mettre la rate au court-bouillon — To worry pointlessly and obsessively over something.
- prendre à la gorge — To seize someone or something forcefully; to make breathing or speech difficult; to trigg…
- regarder la pointe de ses souliers — To lower one's eyes in embarrassment or shame.
- faire florès — To achieve success and build a reputation.
- fuir comme la peste — To avoid something or someone as much as possible.
- beurrer épais — To exaggerate or overdo something.