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Context: The character was sad and helped someone he didn't know. Here he explains his reasoning for doing so.

I'm a bit unsure of the actual nuance of 手前. My understanding after some googling it's that it's akin to 以上は?

The sentence should be akin to "I thought that by meddling with people I can also remove my own shame" phrasing.

In short, what is the actual grammar for た手前?

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手前 is a bit similar to メンツ, as in the nuance is, now that there is something known, it restricts what you can do without making you look bad/weak/unprincipled.

So in this case, since the speaker has offered help to somebody help, they also need to get their house in order because it would be weird if they gave advice/help while their own stuff is in disarray.

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  • Sorry could you elaborate? メンツ, as honor?
    – Kawase_K
    Commented Aug 12 at 17:51
  • @Kawase_K Yes, メンツ = "honor" = 体面. This 手前 is roughly the same as 以上 or "since", but its use is limited to how to preserving one's dignity/reputation.
    – naruto
    Commented Aug 13 at 8:10

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