lose face

But being the swaggering attorney that Trump seems to want – Blanche has also insisted that the loser of the 2020 election continue to be referred to as “President Trump” — has also made him lose face, his client watching as Judge Merchan told Blanche he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

Retired Det Sgt Willie Mason claims senior officers did not want to lose face.

"They won't want to lose face" says Fitton-Brown.

Another view is that this is an attempt at a last-minute diplomatic resolution in which neither the tech firms nor the government lose face: the government says it knew all along that the tech did not exist and removes immediate pressure from the tech firms to invent it, and the tech firms claim a victory for privacy.

"What advantage is there to making someone lose face, unless that is your objective."