Reader's question:  

Finally, the truth stared me in the face, and I had to admit to myself what had really happened. When the facts in the case stared the jury in the face, there was nothing they could do but acquit.

Could you explain "stare in the face"?

My comments:

When you notice someone staring you in the face, what do you do?

You stare back, whether out of curiosity, interest or involuntarily.

When truth stares you in the face? You stare back at "truth", which stands for the reality of whatever situation you find yourself in, usually a difficult situation.

In other words, it's time you faced reality, stopped fooling yourself with illusions (pretending that what happened did not happen) and did what you were supposed to do.

Still in other words, there's no place to hide. Brace yourself, get you act together and do what you've got to do.

Good luck.

Related stories:

With a grain of salt

Drive home

Out of nowhere

Shove it under the carpet

the sky is the limit

hit it off

get my rib in my heart

With bells on

No harm, no foul

Pick up the slack

length and breadth of

get up to speed on something

Borrowed time

On a shoestring

Shake a leg

Sing to a new tune

Truth lies somewhere in the middle

For all intents and purposes

Past praying for

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.