push comes to shove, if/when
if push comes to shove
If the situation deteriorates or becomes desperate; if drastic measures are needed. If push comes to shove, I have some extra savings I could tap into. We'll at least have some leverage in the negotiations if push comes to shove.
See also: come, if, push, shove
when push comes to shove
When the situation deteriorates or becomes desperate; when drastic measures are needed. When push comes to shove, I have some extra savings I could tap into. We'll at least have some leverage in the negotiations when push comes to shove.
See also: come, push, shove
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
when push comes to shove
and if push comes to shoveFig. when things get a little pressed; when the situation gets more active or intense. When push comes to shove, you know I'll be on your side. If push comes to shove at the meeting, the front office can back you up with some statistics.
See also: come, push, shove
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
when push comes to shove
orif push comes to shove
COMMON If you talk about what someone will do when push comes to shove or if push comes to shove, you are talking about what they will do when it becomes necessary to do something difficult. They knew they could sit back, and when push came to shove I'd do all the work. They wouldn't support you, sir. If push came to shove, they wouldn't be behind you. Compare with when it comes to the crunch.
See also: come, push, shove
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
when (or if) push comes to shove
when action must be taken; if the worst comes to the worst. informal 2001 Financial Director When push comes to shove, investors are not always impressed with promises of jam tomorrow.
See also: come, push, shove
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
if/when ˌpush comes to ˈshove
(informal) if/when there is no other choice; if/when everything else has failed: I don’t want to sell the house, but if push comes to shove, I might have to. Shove means to push somebody in a rough way.
See also: come, if, push, shove
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
if push comes to shove
verbSee when push comes to shove
See also: come, if, push, shove
when push comes to shove
and if push comes to shove phr. when things get a little pressed; when the situation gets more active or intense. If push comes to shove, the front office can help with some statistics.
See also: come, push, shove
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
push comes to shove, if/when
If/when matters become serious; when the situation is crucial; if worst comes to worst. This term, with its further implication that action should back up words, appears to have originated in African-American English around the middle of the twentieth century. Murtagh and Harris used it in Cast the First Stone (1958): “Some judges talk nice and polite. . . . Then, when push comes to shove, they say, ‘Six months.’”
See also: come, if, push
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- if push comes to shove
- if/when push comes to shove
- push comes to shove, if
- when
- when push comes to shove
- push up
- have to shove off
- push up on
- push up on (someone or something)
- the rot sets in