下不了臺xià bù liǎo táibe caught in a dilemma;be on the spot; be placed in (/be unable to get out of) an embarrassing situation; be unable to back down with good grace
? 蔣介石出席參政會議時，南京中央大學(xué)學(xué)生到禮堂鬧起來，使蔣介石～。(《周恩來選集》上—276) When he attended the meeting of the Political Council,the students of the Central University in Nanjing went to the auditorium and created an uproar which placed him in an embarrassing position.
? 你下去就坐在她旁邊，擺臉色給她看，叫她～，看她還能神氣活現(xiàn)？(周而復(fù)《上海的早晨》Ⅰ—464) You go down and sit beside her and show her a thing or two,bring her down a peg and see if she can still be so high and mighty. 下不了臺xià bù liǎo tái比喻在眾人面前無法收場。unable to find away out of an embarrassing situation, be on the spot, unable to get off the spot |