to be embarrassed, to be put on the spot
Tive que pagar sapo na frente de todo mundo na reunião.
I had to endure embarrassment in front of everyone at the meeting.
Pagar sapo literally means "to pay a toad," and like the better-known engolir sapo ("to swallow a toad"), it leans on the toad as an image of something repugnant one is forced to put up with — here, the discomfort of being embarrassed or put on the spot.
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