In serious trouble, in desperate situation, in serious difficulties

Etymology:

  • This expression originates as an American slang in the 19th century. The idiom is used objectively to refer to situations where people are lined up against the wall for various reasons. For example, suspected criminals are required to stand against the wall. The police also makes arrested criminal lean forward and the hands against the wall. Another example of the situation is the robber who holds his victim against the wall to prevent from escaping at the gunpoint.
1,307 Views

He played the innings of his life when his team was up against the wall and facing defeat.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Translation

Find a translation for the Up Against the Wall phrase in other languages:

proti zdi

contra la pared

contre le mur

दिवार के सहारे

contra a parede

dựa vào tường

靠在墙上

靠牆

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Up Against the Wall

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Up Against the Wall phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Up Against the Wall definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Up Against the Wall." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/up-against-the-wall_45115>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    It's best to look on the __________ side.
    A bright
    B right
    C sunny
    D just