back to the wall

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, back against the wall . In a hard-pressed situation; also, without any way of escape. For example, In the closing few minutes, our team had its back to the wall but continued to fight gallantly , or The bank has him with his back to the wall; he'll have to pay up now . This term was used originally for a military force that is making a last stand. [First half of 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Wait a moment till I've got my "strong-man-with-his-back-to-the-wall" expression.

From Project Gutenberg

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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