at a pinch BrE
in a pinch AmE

I mean, it could almost be mine, at a pinch.

At a pinch, he might very well feel safe enough in going ahead with what he's doing, and leaving all the rest to you.

"I learned the cry from him, and it is a good one at a pinch, as some of you may remember."

I might be of use at a pinch, but, alas!

At a pinch they could hold out well over six months.'

At a pinch, he would have deemed it to be the very center of the universe.

Her appointments for the following week could, at a pinch, be postponed.

How many of them can fight at a pinch?

The tank lock was big enough to take three people at a pinch, he noted.

He said the diesel engine could use fuel oil at a pinch.

We can always attack from the south, at a pinch.'

There'll be all the farm work that Robert is leaving behind, so we could probably afford to pay him, at a pinch.

An airport would be nice, but any decent highway will do at a pinch.

The vehicle could keep him alive, though hardly comfortable, for three or four days, at a pinch.

In other words, at a pinch they can burn anything for fuel."

An ordinary teaspoon will do at a pinch, though they generally hold less than 5 ml.

We shall have to share pipes, as good friends must at a pinch."

Any skin would do at a pinch but Malone's renegades had taken everything.

The people at a pinch must fight with me."

After all, it's only fifty miles, at a pinch one could walk it."

He was shorter and bigger than Curtis, but the uniform would do at a pinch.

Or at a pinch he might be able to squeeze himself into the desk drawer and hide.

We might even send a destroyer at a pinch.

"He told me," said the other, "Never trust a friend who deserts you at a pinch."

Or perhaps, at a pinch, stupidity's sweet baby brother, innocence.

In a pinch I usually know who to call for help.

The girls, especially, but he would make do with anyone in a pinch.

At times, he does come through in a pinch with an idea and takes action when it is needed.

These are 10 common items to use in a pinch.

Not considered the real thing, but it will do in a pinch.

In a pinch, he could try to take the ship up.

He thought she could always be an actress in a pinch, you see.

Ever try to come up with a 40-ton crane in a pinch?

Not optimal, but it could be done in a pinch.

He suspected that in a pinch she could read and remember better.

I often wonder what we'd have to do in a pinch if things get tough.

In a pinch it might carry eight or ten people.

"We might do without a few of those in a pinch.

On the other hand, engineers had to be able to fight in a pinch.

"Almost anything would do in a pinch, but a living mind is best.

We are strong enough to fight back in a pinch if they want to fetch us.

And the last thing Annie wanted was to be leaving when they were in a pinch.

Maybe what he had on would do in a pinch, but it really did look a bit sunny.

Harry and the other agents were here to help their chief in a pinch.

In a pinch, the coaches can replace workers on the line.

In a pinch, some companies can also borrow from banks.

And in a pinch, it can just "get the job done".

"He'll be near enough if you need him in a pinch.

But a punch in a pinch could help, as Jerry knew.