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

Potential beneficiaries of this crunch could be coal companies in South Africa, Australia, and Indonesia that Asian economies may turn to in a pinch.

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

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 • Jan. 11, 2026

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 • Dec. 28, 2025

Those are tactics “neither employers nor employees like but companies resort to in a pinch to hold down premium increases,” he noted.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 22, 2025

“Normally, you receive extensive training before you go into the field, but we’re in a pinch at the moment. There’s an operation in three weeks, and we find ourselves one person down.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti