paint oneself into a corner
Get oneself into a difficulty from which one can't extricate oneself. For example, By volunteering to do more work in the office and then taking a freelance job, George has painted himself into a corner. This idiom uses the graphic image of painting all of the floor except for the corner one stands in, so that one cannot leave without stepping on wet paint.
Words nearby paint oneself into a corner
painstaking,
paint,
paint black,
paint bridge,
paint horse,
paint oneself into a corner,
paint pot,
paint roller,
paint stripper,
paint the town red,
paint-by-numbers