He apologized to save face after his mistake.
save face
idiomTo take an action or make a gesture intended to preserve one's reputation or honour.
Origin
disputed originSee lose face.
She offered a polite excuse for her late arrival to save face in front of her boss.
The politician resigned quietly to save face, hoping to avoid a public scandal that would ruin his long career.
- 01
bash someone's face in
To beat someone violently.
- 02
blow up in one's face
To fail disastrously.
- 03
boat
[Cockney slang]face
- 04
break someone's face
To beat up someone violently.
- 05
butter face
Alternative form of butterface.
- 06
close the face
To turn the face of the bat inwards, in order to hit the ball to the leg side.
- 07
cut off one's nose to spite one's face
To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.
- 08
face down
To confront; to abash by stern looks.