Jack at a pinch

proper noun

A person whose assistance is sought only in an emergency.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. archaicinformalA person whose assistance is sought only in an emergency.

    "Nay, not I; it is a pretty thing to expect me to wash them; you may take them back again, and say, as Sally had them before, she may wash them now, for me; I am not going to be 'Jack at a pinch,' I can tell you."

    1839, The Cottager's Monthly Visitor, volume 19, page 270
Cite this entry
APA

Jack at a pinch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20at%20a%20pinch

MLA

“Jack at a pinch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20at%20a%20pinch. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jack at a pinch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20at%20a%20pinch.

Source: Jack at a pinch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.