411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Jack at a pinch
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Proper noun
en informal archaic A person whose assistance is sought only in an emergency.
en 1839 The Cottager's Monthly Visitor 19 270 "Nay, not I; it is a pretty thing to expect me to wash them; you may take them back again, and say, as Sally had them before, she may wash them now, for me; I am not going to be 'Jack at a pinch,' I can tell you."
Related terms
en in a pinch