0 done so that other people will continue to respect you: --
1 intended to prevent someone from feeling embarrassed or having to admit that they are wrong: --
a face-saving compromise/exercise/deal The European Commission agreed a face-saving compromise to defuse a bitter dispute with Germany over subsidies.
It would also give a face-saving solution, and in the political world the saving of face is important.
The search has always been for a face-saving formula, never for a solution.
There ought to be no question of face-saving.
Must we go on insisting on total surrender in every way, without any face-saving of which they can take advantage?
Great popular resistance to occupation has surely contributed to their apparent desire to find a face-saving formula for pulling out.
I believe that there is a considerable element of face-saving about it and, except for the leaderships, there are many critics in both bodies.
Meanwhile, back went the coal plan into the melting pot, and then the face-saving tripartite talks were called.
I suspect that much face-saving is involved in this issue.
