拉不下脸

拉不下脸

Literally means:

cannot pull down a face

Actually means:

be unable to do something for fear of offending somebody; hesitate to act for fear of hurting another person's feelings

It means considering one's friend's or relative's feeling, he feels embarrassed to put forward an issue that may displease the others. It also means one is conscious of his dignity and cannot do something that may harm his self-esteem.

指顾及亲友之间的感情或情面，不好意思做出使对方不愉快或难堪的事情。也指顾惜自己的脸面，不做有损自身尊严的事情。