Hard Pressed

Like English-speakers in any era, Sir John and his fellow anti-inkhornians would have been hard-pressed to avoid borrowed terms. ❋ Leslie Dunton-Downer (2010)

We are hard-pressed to think of many other behaviors that are so common among one half of the population and rare among the other half—maybe carrying a purse. ❋ Robert D. Putnam (2010)

Aside from subtle scriptural references on the posters, and the contemporary Christian music playing behind the reception desk, an unwitting visitor might be hard-pressed to identify the building as a church. ❋ Robert D. Putnam (2010)

The fact of the matter is that Rome, in late summer, is inundated with tourists and the most resourceful traveler would be hard-pressed to escape the hoards of tour groups roaming the city. ❋ Michael Yarbrough (2011)

I would have been hard-pressed to identify Mr. Galliano before his recent and appalling notoriety. ❋ James B. Stewart (2011)

"If funding is eliminated entirely, there are going to be a number of stations that will be hard-pressed to stay on the air," said Paula Kerger, the president of PBS. ❋ Unknown (2011)

While I'm no expert in education policy Bill Gates I am not, I'm still hard-pressed to see the benefits of sending those millions to Boston to line the gilded coffers of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ❋ Todd Farley (2011)

If you had asked me, I think I would have been hard-pressed to explain why I pretended to be sick so much. ❋ Terri Cheney (2011)

Many distillers are hard-pressed to admit that they even market a white rum. ❋ Tony Sachs (2011)

It also is the occasion of the release of Alliance for Justice's new short film, Crude Justice, which exposes the terrible dilemma facing hard-pressed victims of the Gulf oil spill as they are forced to choose between suing BP in court and taking a payment from the company's $20 billion compensation fund. ❋ Nan Aron (2010)

"It is something to be considered seriously, because the process is going to be very hard-pressed to continue to meet and to continue." ❋ Corbin Hiar (2010)

Without access to the original paperwork, however, "you can really be hard-pressed" to find the information you need, says James H. Guarino , a partner at Boston-area accounting and consulting firm MFA - Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico LLP. ❋ Arden Dale (2011)

Absent an uptick in trading activity, or another run-up in commodity prices, Glencore will be hard-pressed to achieve 2011 earnings of $6.4 billion, as forecast by banks associated with its IPO. ❋ Andrew Peaple (2011)

While those trying to pay their next energy bill may be hard-pressed to volunteer their time, I can speak from experience that volunteering in my community landed me a coveted job as a reporter at Conde Nast. ❋ Andrea Chalupa (2010)

He believed that long before their ads had run their course, the favorable first impression Morrison had made would have been replaced with the one they wanted: a once reputable officer who spent too much of his retirement hanging out with rich people and advocating their interests over the needs of hard-pressed Americans. ❋ Anonymous (2011)

I would be hard-pressed to act as [an old] man and as his own [child] in a conventional [movie] ❋ Laura Dubcovsky (2007)

[What kind] are they? [Hard pressed] [mang]. ❋ GinAleBel (2007)