feel the pinch
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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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.