crunch time

See also: crunchtime and crunch-time

English

Alternative forms

• crunchtime, crunch-time, time crunch

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

crunch time (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) A critical period of time during which it is necessary to work hard and fast.
   • 2000, Paul Theroux, Sir Vidia's shadow: a friendship across five continents, page 61:

     Tough-minded, Vidia reacted in much the same way as he had in Uganda. Whenever he met Indians in Kenya, he challenged them, demanding to know their backup plans in case of trouble. He called it "crunch time." "Very well then," he [V. S. Naipaul] would say after the first pleasantries, "what are you going to do when crunch time comes?

   • 2023 July 7, David Smith, “End justifies means for Biden in sending cluster bombs to Ukraine”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     His decision on cluster munitions, which drew scorn from progressives in Congress, is indicative of a sense in Washington that the war is reaching crunch time as Ukraine wages a slow but steady counter-offensive.

2. (basketball) The last few minutes of play in the fourth quarter.

See also

• nut-cutting time