Walk (on) a tightrope: to be in a situation where one must be very cautious 走鋼索,(必須非常小心的)危險處境

(tightrope: a rope or wire high above the ground that someone walks along in a circus)

Examples:

1) I’m walking a tightrope at the moment; one more mistake and I may very well lose my job.

2) The general was on a tight rope as to whether he should advance or retreat.

Jordan walks a tightrope in Jerusalem (CNN, 2017/7/26) 約旦在耶路撒冷的危險處境

Jordan, which governed Jerusalem’s Old City before 1967, still maintains a custodial role at Muslim holy sites in the city, which is acknowledged in its peace treaty with Israel. It is an important source of legitimacy for the Jordanian monarchy. (…)

約旦曾在1967年之前管理耶路撒冷舊城,如今仍持續在舊城內的回教聖地扮演監護者的角色。跟以色列訂定的和平條約就承認這點,而這也是約旦王室正當性的重要來源。

(New York Times, 2018/3/30)

Dean Garfield, head of the Information Technology Industry Council, a 102-year-old advocacy group that represents the biggest tech firms, said his members walked a tightrope, supporting and opposing the president on different issues. Lately, he said, “we have reached balance in the tightrope.” (…)

Garfield 是資訊科技工業委員會的會長,這個委員會已有102歷史,代表美國最大的科技公司並且為它們發聲。他說他們的會員都在走鋼索,在各種議題上擁護或是反對美國總統川普。不過近來[我們已經在鋼索上達到平衡。]

Sounds (中文解說): ICRT podcast

Photos: NY Times, toptenz, besttravel