when push comes to shove

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. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

when push comes to shove

 and if push comes to shove

Fig. 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. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

when push comes to shove

or

if 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. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

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 © Farlex 2017

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 © Farlex 2017

if push comes to shove

verb

See 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 Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

when

/if push comes to shove

At a point when the situation must be confronted and dealt with: When push comes to shove, we'll have to move to a cheaper place.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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 Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer