back to the wall

With his back to the wall, he flings himself about the stage like a performer desperate to wring every second of his dwindling time in the spotlight.

In fact, the very existence of the union was a consequence of the success of local organizing in response a few years back to the Wall Street types who owned the Milwaukee Bucks and threatened to pull the basketball team out of the city unless they got hundreds of millions in support from taxpayers for the construction of what is now the Fiserv Forum and surrounding redevelopment district.

They let him rest for a minute, then moved back to the wall.

The boy responded by cautiously moving out from behind the desk, keeping his back to the wall and his eyes fixed on the man.

"I'll be looking 'where's the fire escape', 'where's my nearest exit?' Like sitting with my back to the wall so I can see everything at all times."