Question of the Day #616

“What we’ve seen in the past week is that when push comes to shove, the big tech companies are able to make decisions on who they want to do business with based on society’s norms – but they only do so when they feel there is an existential threat to the viability of their businesses.”

From the 10th paragraph of this article at i News.

上記の文で、when push comes to shoveの意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "when push comes to shove" mean?

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

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解答

意味：
英辞郎によると、

必要なら（ば）、いざとなったら、いよいよとなれば

If push comes to shoveということもあります。

Answer

According to Collins Dictionary:

when matters become critical; when a decision needs to be made

Examples

• When push comes to shove, I have some extra savings I could tap into.
• We'll at least have some leverage in the negotiations when push comes to shove.
• Only a few people were there to help me when push came to shove.
• When push comes to shove, if the doctors get money we could do it; if they don't, forget it.
• When push comes to shove, his mindset is the same. Times, Sunday Times (2011)

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