🤛 When Push Comes to Shove: The Essence of Serious Situations 🤜
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.’”
Synonyms
- Backed into a corner
- In the crunch
- At the eleventh hour
- The moment of truth
- In the hot seat
Antonyms
- Hold off
- Delay
- Suspend
- Postpone
- Let things be
Quotes 🗣️
- “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” - Winston Churchill
- “When push comes to shove, you find out who your real friends are.” - Anonymous
- “Necessity is the mother of invention.” - Plato
Related Proverbs and Expressions 📰
- “Necessity knows no law.”
- “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
- “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
- “It’s crunch time.”
- “Sink or swim.”
Literature, Books, Songs, Poetry, and Movies Recommendations
- Book: When the Going Gets Tough: Mastering Stress and Culture by Patrick Lencioni
- Poetry: If by Rudyard Kipling (“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…”)
- Song: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor - Let’s keep the beat pumping while we face tough times!
- Movie: Gladiator (2000) - What better example of stepping up when it matters most?
### Which of these is a real idiom?
- [x] Push comes to shove
- [ ] Mellow out the butter
- [ ] Racing against soap suds
- [ ] Lighting up the underwater candles
> **Explanation:** "Push comes to shove" is a widely recognized idiom implying the need for decisive action when situations become serious. The others? Utterly preposterous!
### Which phrase fits in the context of a critical scenario?
- [ ] Raining jellybeans
- [ ] Following the yellow brick road
- [x] Moment of truth
- [x] Backed into a corner
> **Explanation:** Both "moment of truth" and "backed into a corner" reflect situations where critical action or decision-making is required. The others? Not quite realistic!
### True or False: 'Push comes to shove' can be used to suggest crucial action is needed.
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** True indeed! This idiom symbolizes the crucial point where action must back up words. Literal shoving? Not so much.
May your words always turn into actions when the moment calls for it. Until next time, stay sharp and keep the language fun!
✨ Lexi Logophile ✨
