expression

[lyfen]

Hi all, I hope to understand an expression of "in a pinch" what it means, as i have read it from a news but i have forget the sentence. thanks in advance.

 

[Rover_KE]

Please quote the full sentence in which you found this phrase.

 

[lyfen]

The sentence is : "In a pinch,I 'd go to my mom's house." thank you in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi all, I hope to understand an expression of "in a pinch". What [STRIKE]it means[/STRIKE] does it mean? [STRIKE]as[/STRIKE] I have read it [STRIKE]from a news[/STRIKE] in a newspaper but I have [STRIKE]forget[/STRIKE] forgotten the sentence. Thanks in advance.

"In a pinch, I would go to my mom's house" means "If I were in a situation which was a bit difficult or I had limited choices, then I would go to my mom's house". In BrE, it's usually "at a pinch" but perhaps "in" works in AmE.

What would you do if you had no money?
At a pinch, I would ask my dad for a loan.

You're vegetarian but what would you do if there was no vegetarian food available at a dinner party?
At a pinch, if I were really hungry, I might eat a little fish but I definitely wouldn't have any meat. I would feel really guilty about eating the fish though.

I know you're an actress but what will happen if you can't get an acting job?
At a pinch, I'll work as a waitress while I wait to be discovered by Hollywood.

 

[lyfen]

So this expression can write : "in or at a pinch" in American and British english ,and is used when we have a choice in a difficult situation,right? can I say "there's no bus today,at a pinch, i can go to work on foot" ? thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

So this expression can be written : "in or at a pinch" in American and British English, and is used when we have a choice in a difficult situation, right?
As I said, I don't know if "in a pinch" is acceptable in AmE. We'll have to wait for an American to say, but in BrE it's "at a pinch".

Can I say "There's no bus today. At a pinch, I can go to work on foot"? Thank you.
It doesn't usually apply to a one-off event. If there's no bus today, then you just choose another way to get to work. You might say something like "I usually go to work on the bus. If there are no buses I could get the train or take my car. At a pinch, I could walk to work but it would take a very long time". It shows that the method is really your last resort, the choice you would only make if all other choices were unavailable.

See above. Please also see the amendments I made to your post in red.
Please remember to start every new sentence with a capital letter.
We don't put a space before a comma, but we do a space after one. That rule also applies to the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence (full stop, question mark, exclamation mark).

 

[lyfen]

Thank you very much. I'm sorry to make a lot of mistakes in my writing. About "in a pinch" that i have read it in the time's news paper so i think it's American expression.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you very much. I'm sorry to make a lot of mistakes in my writing. About "in a pinch", [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] I have read it in the time's (The Times is an English newspaper, The New York Times is an American newspaper and Time magazine is international. Which one did you read it in?) newspaper so I think it's an American expression.

See above. In addition to my previous advice, please remember to always capitalise the word "I" (first person singular).

 

[lyfen]

Sorry to my mistakes, I know my English is not good that's why I come to this site for learning and practising it.
About the expression "in a pinch",I have read it from "time magazine".

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry [STRIKE]to[/STRIKE] for my mistakes, I know my English is not good, that's why I come to this site [STRIKE]for[/STRIKE] to learn[STRIKE]ing[/STRIKE] and practice[STRIKE]ing[/STRIKE] it.
About the expression "in a pinch", I have read it [STRIKE]from[/STRIKE] in "Time" magazine.

Please don't apologise for the standard of your English. It is not a problem. We will always correct errors in each post - we only do this to help you, not to make you feel bad or self-conscious about your English. Simply look at the corrections and make a note of them.

The articles in "Time" magazine are well-written so I'm sure "in a pinch" is an acceptable phrase. The only way to help would be to find out if the author of the piece was British, American or another nationality. Don't worry about it too much. If you want to use it, use it. If not, then don't. :-D

 

[Barb_D]

IN a pinch is indeed the American way to say this. I hadn't known until today that it would be "at a pinch" in the other dialects.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks Barb D. Now we know! :-D

 

[lyfen]

Thanks to you both.