have recourse to

have recourse to (something)

To have access to something, especially in times of trouble or difficulty. I need to care for my ailing mother, but I don't have recourse to a leave of absence. Does he have recourse to his inheritance?
See also: have, recourse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

have recourse to something

to be able to use something for help; to be able to fall back on something. You will always have recourse to the money your grandfather left you. You will not have recourse to that money until you are over 21 years of age.
See also: have, recourse
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • have recourse to (something)
  • recourse
  • half the trouble of (something)
  • save (one's) own skin
  • save skin
  • silver bullet
  • be in hot water
  • be able to (do something) in (one's) sleep
  • be able to do something in your sleep
  • do (something) blindfolded
References in classic literature
Would not each of them be exposed to the same casualties; and when these happened, be obliged to have recourse to the same expedients for upholding its authority which are objected to in a government for all the States?
Federalist Papers Authored by Alexander Hamilton
"This must not be," I thought I heard him say: "either he must listen to reason, or I must have recourse to the last resource of civilization." Then, addressing me in a louder tone, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Listen: no stranger must witness what you have witnessed.
Flatland
You must know there are two ways of contesting,[*] the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.
Prince
Astor had been obliged to have recourse to British subjects experienced in the Canadian fur trade; henceforth it was his intention, as much as possible, to select Americans, so as to secure an ascendency of American influence in the management of the company, and to make it decidedly national.
Astoria or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountain
Therefore, once the invoice or agreement has been validly assigned to the bank, the bank would have direct recourse to the debtor under the invoice or contract (the " Debtor "), however, in the event of a dispute over the performance of the invoice or contract the bank will have recourse to the exporter or contractor (the " Seller ").
Factoring and Invoice Discounting: Law and Practice in Qatar
"In addition to having recourse to Saudi Binladin Group Limited (as obligor), investors will have recourse to the land bank.
Clifford Chance, Al-Jadaan & Partners advise on callable SAR1.3 billion
For geometrical demonstrations we now increasingly have recourse to a folding-back, to punctual transformations, and to the asymptotic properties of conical curves to demonstrate their points of intersection.
Between philosophy and mathematics: examples of interactions in classical Islam