pinch /pintʃ/ I. vt. 捏；掐；拧；夹：He pinched the top of the plants off. 他将植物的顶端掐掉。 The shoes pinch me at the toes. 我的鞋夹得脚趾痛。‖II. n. ［c］ 1. (一)撮，微量：a pinch of salt 一撮盐 2. 捏;掐：He gave her a spiteful pinch. 他狠狠地掐她一下。3. 用于习语：at/in a pinch马马虎虎可以：I need ￡2000 to set up the business, but I suppose ￡1500 would do at a pinch.做这个生意要花我2000英镑，但我觉得1500英镑还能够马马虎虎去做。feel the pinch囊中羞涩：When my father lost his job and we had to live on my mother’s earnings, we really started to feel the pinch. 当父亲失业我们全靠母亲的工资度日时，我们确实感到紧巴巴的。