hard-pressed | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic,usually with to-infinitive)Barely able. Having difficulty doing something.Although they are still available, I think we would behard-pressedto find one on short notice.1939September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, inRailway Magazine, page157:From the 'fifties onwards the development of the South Wales & Monmouthshire coalfield went on at terrific speed, and railway construction washard pressedto keep pace with it.1962December, “Beyond the Channel: Switzerland: Federal Railways' progress”, inModern Railways, page417:These units will replace the 2,800 h.p. motor coaches on the fast and heavy Zurich-Berne-Lausanne-Geneva push-and-pull expresses, which in their turn have been relieving thehard-pressed2,520 h.p. Bo-Bo locomotives of the Re 4/4 type.; (idiomatic)Experiencing financial difficulty or difficulty in surviving.The earthquake left the residentshard-pressed.2022April 6, “Network News: Spring Statement: Sunak accused of making rail less competitive”, inRAIL, number954, page 8:Speaking to Parliament on March 23, Sunak announced a temporary cut in fuel duty of 5p per litre tohard-pressedmotorists who have faced spiralling prices for diesel and petrol in recent weeks.

Examples:

EN: Well, if you boys are hard-pressed, I don't mind helping you out. What were you thinking of asking?
ES: Si es una mano lo que necesitan... ¿de cuanto hablamos?
EN: But I got a wife in Deadwood and a mother-in-law in Carson City and between the two of them I'm hard-pressed to make a living.
ES: Tengo una mujer en Deadwood y una suegra en Carson City y entre las dos me obligan a tener que ganarme la vida.
EN: What urgency there was. The hard-pressed ground troops were holding the airstrip only by effort beyond maximum.
ES: Pero era urgente, pues las tropas que en la pista con un esfuerzo sobrehumano.
EN: I am, to be frank, a bit hard-pressed at the moment.
ES: Para serle sincero, ando mal de fondos.
EN: Why don't you come up to my house and I'll give you a free beauty treatment. If you're hard-pressed for ready cash, it won't cost you a nickel.
ES: ¿Por qué no viene a mi casa para que le dé un tratamiento facial sin costarle nada?
EN: No matter how hard-pressed they may be, it's a despicable thing to do.
ES: Incluso en la pobreza más horrible, ¿cómo puede alguien caer tan bajo?
EN: They're hard-pressed to give battle to a handful of volunteers.
ES: Les cuesta dar batalla a un puñado de voluntarios.
EN: An American expert would be hard-pressed to find it.
ES: Un especialista americano tendría una muy pequeña posibilidad de descubrirlo.
EN: Our army is hard-pressed.
ES: Nuestro ejército está en apuros.
EN: And what's left of it is hard-pressed to keep law and order.
ES: Lo poco que queda de él hace falta allí para mantener la ley y el orden.
EN: The outrageous incompetence and inefficiency of the high command have tried my patience and that of my hard-pressed army long enough.
ES: La desastrosa incompetencia y la ineficacia del alto mando han agotado mi paciencia y la de mi ejército sometido a su presión.
EN: Even then, they're hard-pressed to make a decision.
ES: Aun entonces, les resulta difícil tomar una decisión.
EN: I'm hard-pressed to determine which you're more inept at...
ES: Estoy en dificultades para determinar para qué eres más inepto:
EN: When are hard-pressed by evil, deliver us.
ES: Cuando estemos presionados por el mal, libéranos.
EN: And they are going to be hard-pressed to try to protect that slim one run lead.
ES: Y tendrán mucha presión al tratar de proteger esa ínfima diferencia de una carrera.

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