hot seat

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Slang The electric chair.
• noun Informal A position in which one is subjected to extreme stress or discomfort, as by excessive criticism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun slang the electric chair
• noun by extension any stressful situation

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person
• noun a difficult position where you are subjected to stress and criticism