一日一成语【30】back to the wall

back to the wall

这是一个十分形象的成语，它描绘了这样一种局面：在对手的威逼下，你步步后退，直至你的背靠到了墙壁，再无退路了。因此，back to the wall便是“走投无路，无路可逃”之意。除了说back to the wall之外，也可以说back against the wall。它的用法比较灵活，可以说have someone’s back to the wall，也可以用someone’s back作主语，也可以把back to the wall置于介词with之后，构成一个介词短语作状语：

After fighting fiercely three days and nights the soldiers had their back to the wall.
激战三天三夜之后，士兵们陷入绝境。

He went bankrupt and there was no one who was willing to help. His back was thus against the wall.
他破产了，没有人乐意帮他的忙，他没有生路了。

With his back to the wall, the animal became ferocious.
这头困兽变得凶恶起来。