back is to/against the wall
 back is to/against the wall
  ◇ When your back is to/against the wall or you have your back to/against the wall you are in a bad position in which you are forced to do something in order to avoid failure.
   With our backs to the wall we made a last desperate effort to finish the project on time.
   We knew that with so little time and money left to finish the project we had our backs to the wall.
  
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 Main Entry: back
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 back is to/against the wall — see back, 1
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 Main Entry: wall