when push comes to shoveとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

発音

成句

when push comes to shove

1. (figuratively, idiomatic) When the pressure is on; when the situation is critical or urgent; when the time has come for action, even if it is difficult.

   He is not a particularly talented builder, but when push comes to shove, he can usually get the job done.

   • 1982 December 18, David France, “Protests Drive Klan Rally Out Of Washington”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 22, page 1:

     While most chose at that time either to disband or to join the APC rally several blocks north in McPherson Park, several hundred mostly young DC-area blacks and a sizable number of militant Palestinians continued to demand their right to confront the Klan. Push somehow came to shove and the face-off began. Several hours of street fighting followed.

   • 2020 May 20, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, “Repurpose rail for the 2020s”, in Rail, page 35:

     "We've demonstrated that when push comes to shove, we can be really fast, we can be agile, we can do things more slickly.

参考

• in a pinch
• nut-cutting time
• when the chips are down
• when the gloves come off