1. back to the wall - Noun
2. back to the wall - Phrase
back to the wall (plural backs to the wall)
(idiomatic) (Can we clean up this sense?) A very difficult situation with no beneficial options available for action.
The only good thing about having your back to the wall is that it makes it really easy to choose which way you're going to go. Jim Butcher
The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall. Jean Chrétien
Some critics of the pessimist often think they have his back to the wall when they blithely jeer, "If that is how this fellow feels, he should either kill himself or be decried as a hypocrite.”. Thomas Ligotti