The French expression “mettre quelqu’un au pied du mur” translates literally to “to put somebody at the foot of the wall”. This expression is almost the same in English:
- to have somebody up against a wall
A French meaning of this expression is “enlever toute échappatoire à quelqu’un” or to remove all ways-out or loop-holes from somebody. A synonymous verb for this expression is “acculer”, which means to corner.
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Here’s an example sentence:
Après la déposition des témoins, le criminel présumé a ete mis au pied du mur. After the witness statements the alleged criminal was up against a wall.
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