In a pinch

To be in a pinch is to have a problem that needs a quick solution

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In a pinch

I’ve got an informal expression for you today: “in a pinch.”

If you’re “in a pinch,” you’re in a difficult or awkward situation . If you’re in a pinch, you usually need a quick solution . Sometimes that requires creative thinking . But the important thing is, you’re not in a crisis . Nobody is in grave danger . To be in a pinch is to have a minor problem that needs a quick solution.

Imagine that you’re an English speaker in the province of Quebec. You’re not in Montreal; instead , you’re in one of the smaller towns or villages in the province. You can typically get by with the little bit of French that you know. You want to pay the bill at a restaurant with a credit card. The server starts talking to you in French, gesturing , but you don’t understand.

You start to get nervous . The server won’t take your card. He’s talking in French (fast!) and expecting a response from you. He’s starting to get impatient . You don’t know what to do. You don’t know what the person is saying. Yet clearly you are expected to do or say something.

You’re in a pinch. You’re in an uncomfortable situation. You’ve got a minor problem. You need a quick solution. Luckily , in Quebec , there’s usually someone around who can translate in a pinch. It would be awkward to always need a stranger’s help. But if you’re in a pinch, if you’re in an unexpected or uncomfortable situation , someone can usually help you.

In this case, maybe the stranger can translate and tell you the credit card machine is broken so you have to pay in cash. What else can help in a pinch? A translation app might help in a pinch. Again, you can’t ask everyone you see to talk into your translation app . But if you’re in a pinch, that might be the best answer.

If someone calls you and says, “I’m in a pinch,” they’re probably going to ask you for help. Let’s say your neighbor calls. “I’m in a pinch,” he says. He was supposed to pick up his kids from school at 3:00. But a long meeting at work was delayed and now he can’t get there on time. He needs a quick solution. So he calls you. “I’m in a pinch,” he says. “Can you get the kids at school this afternoon?”

I’m useless around the house . JR is good. I’m not. I can’t fix anything. I can’t install a ceiling fan , I can’t replace a screen door , I can’t even paint a wall without messing it up . I can, kind of, use 3M command strips. These are the hooks you just stick on the wall without drilling or nailing a hole .

I say “kind of” because I can affix them to the wall, no problem, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be straight . Anyway, I had to hang a few hooks last weekend and they were up high on the wall. A normal person would have a ladder or a stepstool available. But we’ve already established that I’m not normal in this respect.

It’s not recommended to stand on a swivel office chair if you need to get up high. But it can work in a pinch. It can work if that’s the only thing you have available—and that was the only thing I had available.

You would never plan to hang a hook high on the wall by standing on a swiveling chair. That would be madness . But if you’re in a pinch—if you need to hang a high hook and the only way to get up there is to stand on a swiveling chair—well, that works in a pinch.

I love a piping hot fresh cup of coffee in the morning. I grind the beans myself and I slowly pour the hot water over the grinds . That’s how we make coffee in the U.S., either in a coffee maker or manually .

But this is not how they do it in most parts of the world. In most parts of the world, “coffee” is espresso plus something. A latte is espresso plus milk. An americano is espresso plus hot water.

An americano looks similar to a filter coffee the way I like to drink it, but it’s not the same. I don’t like to drink americanos. But here in Mexico, where I live, most coffee shops and cafes don’t serve the coffee the way I like it.

So sometimes, especially if I’m not at home, if I’m not in the city, I won’t be able to get coffee the way I like it. So you know what? I’ll drink an americano in a pinch. That means, if I’m in a situation where I can’t get coffee the way I want it, I need some kind of alternate solution . Because— obviously I need something with caffeine !

So if I’m in a pinch, I’ll have an americano. But I really do prefer the filter coffee the way I make it at home.

See you next time!

I’ll never forget when I went to London as a student. That was the first time I had left the country since I had started drinking coffee. And I realized that you can’t just order “a cup of coffee” in Europe. You’re going to have to specify what you want. And at that time, the only places in London that made coffee the American way were McDonald’s and a few American restaurants. The big coffee chains in London—Costa, Pret, Nero—they didn’t make filter coffee then.

Anyway…that’s it for today. If you want to practice using “in a pinch,” find the tab called “Your turn ” on the transcript page, write your example, and I’ll send you personal feedback on what you write. It’s a great way to make sure you’re understanding what you’re learning.

PlainEnglish.com/674 is where you’ll find the transcripts for today’s lesson. Thank you JR for that. We’ll be back on Thursday. See you then.

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