feel the pinch

Idioms  

1. Be affected by hardship, especially straitened finances. For example, This job pays much less, so we're bound to feel the pinch. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

But despite the higher price for their sheep, upland farmers with tight margins feel the pinch more than many when diesel and oil costs go up.

From BBC

“We’re losing them to grocery and food at home. They feel the pinch and we feel the pullback from them,” he said.

From MarketWatch

He believes that if the labor market continues to weaken, at some point consumers will feel the pinch, threatening a key pillar of the U.S. economy.

From MarketWatch

“It is one of our core consumer cohorts. They feel the pinch and we feel the pullback from them as well.”

From Salon

Two-tenths of 1% might not sound like much, but it means that many Americans may feel the pinch as they try to make ends meet.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• call for
• demand
• desire
• lack
• require