出処進退の潔さをわきまえている、と彼は言っているけれど、いざとなったらどうだかね。
He always talks as though he knows how to handle himself but you never know how he'll act when the chips are down.

家主に家賃を払えば、食物を買う金がなくなる。進退きわまったというところだ。
If we pay the rent to the landlady, we won't have any money for food; we are between the devil and the deep blue sea.