straitened circumstances

English

Noun

straitened circumstances pl (plural only)

1. Reduced (financial) circumstances; poverty, austerity.

   They had been living in straitened circumstances after John was made redundant.

   • 1982 December 11, Frances Russell, “Economic performance buoys Pawley’s position”, in The Vancouver Sun (The Weekend Sun), Vancouver, BC, page A6:

     The throne speech’s relative timidity is a reflection of the government’s straitened financial circumstances.

Coordinate terms

• straitened times