but I see here neither apples nor pears, nor any other sort of fruit, everywhere nothing but cabbages," but at length he thought, "At a pinch I can eat some of the leaves, they do not taste particularly good, but they will refresh me."
— from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm by Wilhelm Grimm

Such a work as far as permanence is concerned exceeds sculpture.
— from Thoughts on Art and Life by da Vinci Leonardo

He could think of but one way to forestall Mr. Wimpelmeyer, and that was by digging down into his own pocket and paying in cash every single cent that the electorate of Tinkletown owed "the dad-burned Shylark!"
— from Anderson Crow, Detective by George Barr McCutcheon

"And perhaps I cannot explain," said he.
— from Macleod of Dare by William Black

You and I are persons, and persons in Christ; each stands alone day and night before the judgment-seat of Christ.
— from Sermons for the Times by Charles Kingsley

At a pinch I can even shoe a horse.
— from The Dew of Their Youth by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

“You see,” he observed, “should this get pricked, even while we are playing, I can easily stop up the hole by forming a neck, and tying a piece of thin string round it.
— from Ernest Bracebridge: School Days by William Henry Giles Kingston

Here, a partition is constructed, encroaching slightly on the cell proper, and the residence is divided into two unequal storeys, a large room below, housing a female, and a narrow cabin above, containing a male.
— from Bramble-Bees and Others by Jean-Henri Fabre

At length he thought, “At a pinch I can eat some of the leaves.
— from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Wilhelm Grimm