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pinch
(redirected from feeling the pinch)

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
pinch  (pnch)
v. pinched, pinch·ing, pinch·es
v.tr.
1. To squeeze between the thumb and a finger, the jaws of a tool, or other edges.
2. To squeeze or bind (a part of the body) in a way that causes discomfort or pain: These shoes pinch my toes.
3. To nip, wither, or shrivel: buds that were pinched by the frost; a face that was pinched with grief.
4. To straiten: "A year and a half of the blockade has pinched Germany" (William L. Shirer).
5. Slang To take (money or property) unlawfully. See Synonyms at steal.
6. Slang To take into custody; arrest.
7. To move (something) with a pinch bar.
8. Nautical To sail (a boat) so close into the wind that its sails shiver and its speed is reduced.
v.intr.
1. To press, squeeze, or bind painfully: This collar pinches.
2. To be miserly.
3. Nautical To drag an oar at the end of a stroke.
n.
1. The act or an instance of pinching.
2. An amount that can be held between thumb and forefinger: a pinch of salt.
3. A painful, difficult, or straitened circumstance: felt the pinch of the recession.
4. An emergency situation: This coat will do in a pinch.
5. A narrowing of a mineral deposit, as in a mine.
6. Informal A theft.
7. Slang An arrest by a law enforcement officer.
adj. Baseball
Relating to pinch-hitting or pinch runners: a pinch single; a pinch steal of third base.
Idiom:
pinch pennies Informal
To be thrifty or miserly.

[Middle English pinchen, from Old North French *pinchier, variant of Old French pincier, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *pnctire.]

pinch [pɪntʃ]
vb
1. to press (something, esp flesh) tightly between two surfaces, esp between a finger and the thumb (see nip1)
2. to confine, squeeze, or painfully press (toes, fingers, etc.) because of lack of space these shoes pinch
3. (tr) to cause stinging pain to the cold pinched his face
4. (tr) to make thin or drawn-looking, as from grief, lack of food, etc.
5. (usually foll by on) to provide (oneself or another person) with meagre allowances, amounts, etc.
pinch pennies to live frugally because of meanness or to economize
7. (Transport / Nautical Terms) (tr) Nautical to sail (a sailing vessel) so close to the wind that her sails begin to luff and she loses way
8. (Mining & Quarrying) (intr; sometimes foll by out) (of a vein of ore) to narrow or peter out
9. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Horticulture) (usually foll by off, out, or back) to remove the tips of (buds, shoots, etc.) to correct or encourage growth
10. (tr) Informal to steal or take without asking
11. (Law) (tr) Informal to arrest
n
1. a squeeze or sustained nip
2. (Mathematics & Measurements / Units) the quantity of a substance, such as salt, that can be taken between a thumb and finger
3. (Mathematics & Measurements / Units) a very small quantity
4. a critical situation; predicament; emergency if it comes to the pinch we'll have to manage
5. (usually preceded by the) sharp, painful, or extreme stress, need, etc. feeling the pinch of poverty
6. (Engineering / Tools) See pinch bar
7. Slang a robbery
8. (Law) Slang a police raid or arrest
at a pinch if absolutely necessary
with a pinch or grain of salt without wholly believing; sceptically
[probably from Old Norman French pinchier (unattested); related to Old French pincier to pinch; compare Late Latin punctiāre to prick]

Pinch a very small quantity.
Examples: pinch of pleasure, 1583; of salt; of snuff, 1712; of fresh tea, 1840.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.pinchpinch - a painful or straitened circumstance; "the pinch of the recession"
difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties"
2.pinch - an injury resulting from getting some body part squeezed
harm, hurt, injury, trauma - any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
3.pinchpinch - a slight but appreciable amount; "this dish could use a touch of garlic"
small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
snuff - a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time
4.pinchpinch - a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action; "he never knew what to do in an emergency"
crisis - a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something; "after the crisis the patient either dies or gets better"
5.pinchpinch - a small sharp bite or snip          
snip, clipping, clip - the act of clipping or snipping
chomp, bite - the act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws
6.pinchpinch - a squeeze with the fingers          
squeeze, squeezing - the act of gripping and pressing firmly; "he gave her cheek a playful squeeze"
7.pinchpinch - the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); "the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar"
capture, gaining control, seizure - the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property
Verb1.pinchpinch - squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle"
grip - hold fast or firmly; "He gripped the steering wheel"
goose - pinch in the buttocks; "he goosed the unsuspecting girl"
tweak - pinch or squeeze sharply
2.pinch - make ridges into by pinching together
fold, fold up, turn up - bend or lay so that one part covers the other; "fold up the newspaper"; "turn up your collar"
flute - form flutes in
3.pinch - make off with belongings of others
steal - take without the owner's consent; "Someone stole my wallet on the train"; "This author stole entire paragraphs from my dissertation"
4.pinchpinch - cut the top off; "top trees and bushes"
prune, snip, lop, cut back, clip, crop, trim, dress - cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of; "dress the plants in the garden"
tail - remove the stalk of fruits or berries
5.pinch - irritate as if by a nip, pinch, or tear; "smooth surfaces can vellicate the teeth"; "the pain is as if sharp points pinch your back"
irritate - excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus; "irritate the glands of a leaf"

pinch
verb
1. nip, press, squeeze, grasp, compress, tweak She pinched his arm as hard as she could.
2. hurt, crush, squeeze, pain, confine, cramp, chafe shoes which pinch our toes
3. (Brit. informal) steal, rob, snatch, lift (informal), nick (slang, chiefly Brit.), trouser (slang), swipe (slang), knock off (slang), blag (slang), pilfer, snitch (slang), purloin, filch, snaffle (Brit. informal) pickpockets who pinched his wallet

noun
1. nip, squeeze, tweak She gave him a little pinch.
2. dash, bit, taste, mite, jot, speck, small quantity, smidgen (informal), soupçon (French) a pinch of salt
3. emergency, crisis, difficulty, plight, scrape (informal), strait, uphill (S. African), predicament, extremity, hardship I'd trust her in a pinch.
at a pinch if necessary, with difficulty, if need(s) be, just possibly, in a pinch (U.S. & Canad.), at a push (Brit. informal) This recipe serves two, or three at a pinch.
feel the pinch suffer hardship, be poor, be impoverished, be short of money, have less money, suffer poverty The first few months of paying a mortgage is the period when most people feel the pinch.
Translations
pinch [pɪntʃ]
A. N
1. (with fingers) → pellizco m
to give sb a pinch on the armdar a algn un pellizco en el brazo, pellizcar el brazo a algn
2. (= small quantity) → pizca f
a pinch of saltuna pizca de sal
a pinch of snuffun polvo de rapé
to take sth with a pinch of salttomarse algo con reservas, no creerse algo a pies juntillas
3. (fig) → apuro m
at a pinchen caso de apuro or necesidad
if it comes to the pinchen un caso extremo
to feel the pinch(empezar a)pasar apuros or estrecheces
to feel the pinch of povertysaber lo que significa ser pobre
B. VT
1. (with fingers) → pellizcar; [shoe] → apretar
to pinch one's finger in the doorpillarse el dedo en la puerta
to pinch off or out or back a budarrancar un brote con los dedos
2. (= steal) → robar, birlar, guindar(Sp)
I had my pen pinchedme robaron la pluma, me birlaron la pluma
he pinched that idea from Shawesa idea la robó de Shaw
he pinched Mike's girlle pisó or levantó la novia a Mike
3. (= arrest) → pescar, coger, agarrar(LAm)
he got pinched for a parking offencelo pescaron en una infracción de aparcamiento, le metieron un paquete por aparcamiento indebido
C. VI [shoe] → apretar
to pinch and scrapeprivarse de lo necesario
they pinched and scraped to send her to collegese privaron de muchas cosas para poder enviarla a la universidad

pinch [ˈpɪntʃ]
n
(with fingers)pincement m
to give sb a pinch → pincer qn
at a pinch (British) (= if absolutely necessary) → à la rigueur
in a pinch (US) (= if absolutely necessary) → à la rigueur
to be in a pinch (= in a difficult situation) → être dans le pétrin
to be feeling the pinch (= suffer financially) [company] → souffrir financièrement
[salt, spice] → pincée f
vt
(with fingers)pincer
He pinched me! → Il m'a pincé!
to pinch sb's arm → pincer le bras de qn
to pinch o.s. (fig)se pincer
I kept pinching myself to prove that it wasn't all a dream → Je n'arrêtais pas de me pincer pour être sûr que tout cela n'était pas un rêve.
[shoes] → serrer
(= steal) → piquer >
Who's pinched my pen? → Qui est-ce qui m'a piqué mon stylo?
vi
[shoe] → serrer
pinch off
vt sep [+ buds, flowers] → supprimer, épincer
pinch out
vt sep [+ buds, tips] → supprimer, épincer

pinch
n
(with fingers) → Kneifen nt no pl, → Zwicken nt no pl; to give somebody a pinch on the armjdn in den Arm kneifen or zwicken
(= small quantity)Quäntchen nt; (Cook) → Prise f; a pinch of snuffeine Prise Schnupftabak
(= pressure) to feel the pinchdie schlechte Lage zu spüren bekommen; I’m feeling the pinch a bit at the momentich bin im Augenblick ziemlich knapp bei Kasse (inf); if it comes to the pinchwenn es zum Schlimmsten or Äußersten kommt; at (Brit) or in (US) a pinchzur Not
vt
(with fingers) → kneifen, zwicken; (with implement: = squeeze) end of wire etczusammendrücken, zusammenklemmen; (shoe) → drücken; to pinch somebody’s bottomjdn in den Hintern kneifen; to pinch oneselfsich kneifen; to pinch one’s finger in the doorsich (dat)den Finger in der Tür (ein)klemmen
(Brit inf: = steal) → klauen, stibitzen, mopsen (all inf); don’t let anyone pinch my seatpass auf, dass mir niemand den Platz wegnimmt; he pinched Johnny’s girlfriender hat Johnny (dat)die Freundin ausgespannt (inf); he pinched that idea from Shawdie Idee hat er bei Shaw geklaut (inf); I had my car pinchedmein Auto ist geklaut worden (inf)
(inf, = arrest) → schnappen (inf), → erwischen
vi
(shoe, also fig) → drücken
to pinch and scrapesich einschränken

pinch [pɪntʃ]
1. n
a. (with fingers) → pizzicotto, pizzico
to feel the pinch (fig) → trovarsi nelle ristrettezze
at a pinch (fig) → se è proprio necessario
if it comes to the pinch → se le cose si mettono male
b. (small quantity) → pizzico, presa
to take sth with a pinch of salt (fig) → prendere qc con un grano di sale
2. vt
a. (with fingers) → pizzicare
my shoes are pinching me → le scarpe mi vanno strette
b. (fam) (steal) → fregare, grattare; (idea) → rubare
c. (fam) (arrest) → pizzicare
3. vi (shoe) → essere (troppo) stretto/a, stringere
to pinch and scrape → fare economia (su tutto)

pinch [pɪntʃ]
1. n
a. (with fingers) → pizzicotto, pizzico
to feel the pinch (fig) → trovarsi nelle ristrettezze
at a pinch (fig) → se è proprio necessario
if it comes to the pinch → se le cose si mettono male
b. (small quantity) → pizzico, presa
to take sth with a pinch of salt (fig) → prendere qc con un grano di sale
2. vt
a. (with fingers) → pizzicare
my shoes are pinching me → le scarpe mi vanno strette
b. (fam) (steal) → fregare, grattare; (idea) → rubare
c. (fam) (arrest) → pizzicare
3. vi (shoe) → essere (troppo) stretto/a, stringere
to pinch and scrape → fare economia (su tutto)

pinch
v pinch [pintʃ]
1 to squeeze or press tightly (flesh), especially between the thumb and forefinger He pinched her arm. knyp يَقْرُص بَين الأبْهام والسَّبّابَه щипя štípnout nive; klemme zwicken τσιμπώ, σφίγγω pellizcar näpistama نیشگون گرفتن nipistää pincer לִצבוֹט निचोड़ना, ऐंठना štipati,uštipnuti (meg)csíp mencubit klípa pizzicare つねる 꼬집다 įgnybti, (su)žnybti []kniebt mencubit knijpen klype szczypać beliscar a ciupi ущипнуть uštipnúť uščipniti uštinuti nypa หยิก çimdiklemek щипати; прищемити چٹکي لينا véo
2 to hurt by being too small or tight My new shoes are pinching (me). knyp, maak seer يُؤْلِم، يوجِع стискам tlačit klemme drücken σφίγγω λόγω μικρού μεγέθους apretar pigistama فشردن puristaa serrer לִלחוֹץ चिकोटी काटना prignječiti szorít menjepit kreppa að stringere 締めつける (꼭 끼어) 아프다 spausti spiest menggigit knellen klemme, trykke uwierać apertar a strânge жать tlačiť tiščati stezati klämma, sitta åt รัดแน่น vurmak 夾痛 стискати; мулити زخمي کرنا bó chặt
3 to steal Who pinched my bicycle? steel يَسْرق، يَخْتَلِس открадвам štípnout (ukrást) hugge klauen κλέβω robar, birlar näppama دزیدن varastaa piquer לִסחוֹב चोरी करना ukrasti (el)lop mencuri stela rubare 盗む 훔치다 nukniaukti nozagt; nočiept mencuri jatten rappe, knabbe zwędzić roubar a şter­peli стащить potiahnuť suniti ukrasti knycka ขโมย aşırmak, yürütmek 盜竊 вкрасти; пограбувати چوري کرنا ăn cắp
n
1 an act of pinching; a squeeze or nip He gave her a pinch on the cheek. knyp قَرْصَه بإصْبَعَيْن щипване štípanec klem das Zwicken τσιμπιά pellizco näpistus نیشگون nipistys pincement צְבִיטָה चिकोटी uštipnuti (za lice) megcsípés cubitan klípa, klíping pizzico つねり 꼬집기 gnybis, žnybtelėjimas kniebiens cubitan kneep klyp uszczypnięcie beliscão ciupitură щипок štípanec uščip štipanje nyp, nypning การหยิก çimdik щипок چٹکي cái véo
2 a very small amount; what can be held between the thumb and forefinger a pinch of salt. knippie مِقْدار صَغير، قَبْضَه щипка špetka anelse die Prise πρέζα, πολύ μικρή ποσότητα pizca näputäis کمی؛ به قدر یک سر انگشت hyppysellinen pincée קַמצוּץ चुटकी भर soli koliko se uhvati sa dva prsta csipet(nyi) sejimpit klípa pizzico 少量 소량 žiupsn(el)is šķipsniņa secubit snuifje klype szczypta pitada vârf de cuţit; pic щепотка štipka ščepec prstohvat nypa จำนวนน้อยมาก bir tutam [一]撮 пучка چٹکي بھر، ذرا سا nhúm]撮
adj pinched
(of a person's face) looking cold, pale or thin because of cold, poverty etc Her face was pinched with cold. gekwel مَقْروص، مَلْسوع، مُصاب изпит ztrhaný hærget; udmagret abgehärmt ταλαιπωρημένος con la cara pálida (külmast) näpistatud تکیده؛ واپیچیده riutunut aux traits tirés פָּנִים חִיוורוֹת וּכחוּשוֹת अभावग्रस्त pomodrio od studeni elgyötört (arc) kurus sem setur mark sitt á andlit tirato, emaciato ゆがんだ 초췌한 suþvarbæs, sumenkæs, suvargæs vājš; izģindis; sarāvies cengkung gekweld, verkleumd blek og medtatt ściągnięty chupado zbârcit продрогший; истощённый strhaný shiran bled plågad, härjad, infallen, tärd ซีดเซียว süzülmüş, solmuş 憔悴的 затиснений مرجھايا ہوا، پژمردہ phờ phạc 悴的
feel the pinch
to be in difficulty because of lack of money. geld kort يَشْعُر بالصُّعوبَه، يَحِس بِقَسْوَة в затруднено положение съм být na suchu være i bekneb unter Gelddruck sein έχω οικονομικά προβλήματα pasar apuros, pasar estrecheces kitsikuses olema از لحاظ مالی در مضیقه بودن olla ahtaalla être serré זָקוּק לְכֶסֶף धन की कमी से मुश्किल का सामना करना u novčanoj neprilici pénzzavarban van mendapat kesusahan karena kekurangan uang vera í fjárhagskröggum (essere in ristrettezze) 金に困る 경제적 곤경에 빠지다 turėti susiveržti diržą būt naudas grūtībās kesempitan wang in financi{#225}{#137}{#225}le moeilijkheden komen kjenne trykket/at det kniper musieć zaciskać pasa estar num aperto a fi strâmtorat/la ananghie испытывать денежные затруднения byť na suchu, mať nedostatok biti v denarnih težavah imati novčanih problema känna pressen (trycket) av fattigdom อัตคัดขัดสน parasızlık çekmek 窘迫 бути в скруті غربت کي وجہ سے مشکل ميں ہونا túng thiếu 窘迫

pinch يَقْرِصّ štípnout klemme kneifen τσιμπώ pellizcar nipistää pincer uštipnuti pizzicare つねる …을 꼬집다 knijpen klype uszczypnąć beliscar зажимать nypa หยิก çimdiklemek cấu


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``We are not feeling the pinch yet,'' said Superintendent Jaime Castellanos.
Satellite broadcasters are feeling the pinch as cable companies continue to roll out a triple play of video, Internet and telephone service.
Nurses are already feeling the pinch of the Bracks' Government and Nurses Board of Victoria (NBV) changes introduced last month that allow personal care workers to administer medications in high dependency residential aged care facilities.
 
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