习语可以是一个词或短语，要理解习语的意思不能脱离其文化背景。习语一词的含义甚广，其蕴含的意义往往不能从词或词组的字面意思推测而得。习语在所有语言中都很常见。英语习语是日常英语的重要组成部分。在英语的书面语和口语中，存在海量的习语。
儒琴今日习语（Idiom of the Day）
if/when push comes to shove
英文解释
The idiom that describes that critical time when a decision must be made, when a commitment must be made, when action must be taken to back up words ( grammarist.com); If the situation deteriorates or becomes desperate; if drastic measures are needed (thefreedictionary.com)
中文解释
push 一词表示：推动(人或物); 移动(身体部位) 等等；而 shove 一词是push动作的升级版，表示：粗鲁地推，粗暴地推。“push” 要比“shove” 温和。习语 if/when push comes to shove 字面意思是：如果（当）“推动”（push）逐步升级到”粗鲁地推” （shove）。其引申意思是：当事态严重时；在关键时刻，一旦情况紧急, 不得已时，必须做出决定、做出承诺、采取行动来支持自己的言论和行动。
该习语起源于19世纪晚期的美国黑人英语。毫无疑问，当 push comes to shove 这个习语在20世纪50年代的某个时候开始在书面英语中普及之前，就已经在口语中使用了。
原文举例
If push comes to shove, we can always sell the car.
实在不行，我们还可以把车卖了。
On the economic side, China has gained a formidable leverage by buying US treasury bonds. As of January 2018, US debt to China stood at USD 1.17 trillion. By buying US bonds, China has directly helped US bank interest rates to remain low. If China were to stop buying US treasury bonds, the US federal government would have to borrow money for its budget from local banks driving the interest rates very high. That would create a terrible financial backlash throwing the US economy along with the rest of the world into recession. China knows that recession would mean lower demands for Chinese consumer products in the US market. But if Trump’s push comes to shove, Beijing would probably not hesitate to call in its loan from US. （thedailystar.net/April 09, 2018）
在经济方面，中国通过购买美国国债获得了强大的影响力。截至2018年1月，美国对华债务为1.17万亿美元。通过购买美国债券，中国直接帮助美国银行利率维持在低位。如果中国停止购买美国国债，美国联邦政府将不得不从地方银行借钱用于预算，这将推高利率。这将造成可怕的金融反弹，使美国经济和世界其他地区一起陷入衰退。中国知道，经济衰退将意味着美国市场对中国消费品的需求下降。但如果特朗普对华采取行动，当事态变得严重时，北京可能会毫不犹豫地要求美国收回贷款。
