in a pinch

Idioms  

1. In an emergency, when hard-pressed, as in This music isn't what I would have chosen, but it will do in a pinch. This term dates from the late 1400s, when it was put as at a pinch (a usage still current in Britain); pinch alludes to straitened circumstances.

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Example Sentences

Rice is a given—I nearly always have extra bags on hand—and in a pinch I could grill the chicken, sauté the beef, add some vegetables, and eat variations on miso-butter rice all week long.

From Salon

Beef is more expensive than ever, and while many restaurants are feeling the squeeze, steakhouses are particularly in a pinch given their reliance on sales of dishes with a juicy porterhouse or rib-eye.

From The Wall Street Journal

On evenings when one kid was studying for a big test, Amy or I would sit and read in the child’s room, making it easier to ask an uncomfortable question in a pinch.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It would take a miracle to find decent caviar in this primitive land,” he remarked on his way out, “but a plate of smoked herring would do nicely in a pinch.”

From Literature

She was a loyal friend, calm in a crisis, resourceful in a pinch, and optimistic to a fault.

From Literature