in a pinch

in a pinch

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Prepositional phrase

in a pinch

1. (idiomatic) In an urgent or difficult situation; when no other solution is available.

   It's not a great fashion statement, but in a pinch a large trash bag will keep you dry.

Synonyms

• (in a difficult situation): when push comes to shove, when the chips are down, when the gloves come off
• at a pinch

Descendants

• Japanese: ピンチ (pinchi)

Translations

in a difficult situation

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: 在緊要關頭, 在紧要关头 (zài jǐnyào guāntóu) Finnish: pinteessä French: à la rigueur (fr), à la limite (fr) German: im Notfall Italian: please add this translation if you can

Japanese: いざと言う時に (いざというときに, iza toyū toki-ni) Korean: please add this translation if you can Polish: w opałach Portuguese: em (pt) caso (pt) de (pt) emergência (pt) Russian: в тру́дную мину́ту (v trúdnuju minútu), в слу́чае нужды́ (v slúčaje nuždý), в кра́йнем слу́чае (v krájnem slúčaje) Spanish: en un apuro