手前【てまえ】

手前 has two uses. After a place and の it means "just before" or "this side of"; after a verb, or a person and の, it means "having done ~" or "in front of ~", and what follows is what you now have to do to keep face.

Keeping face

The verb before 手前 is usually in the た-form: something you said, promised or took on. The second half is what you can't now get out of, often with わけにはいかない or しかない.

With a person and の, it is the people watching you – your juniors, a customer, your boss.

手前 or 前

まえ前 is "in front of". 手前 is the near side of something on your way to it, so えき駅のまえ前 is at the station and えき駅のてまえ手前 is before you reach it. In the social use, ぶか部下のまえ前で only says where you are; ぶか部下のてまえ手前 says you are holding back because of them.

Separately, 手前 is an old humble word for "I", and its rough form てめえ is an insulting "you" heard in films and manga.