左支右绌
Traditional form:
左支右絀
Pinyin (reading):
zuǒzhīyòuchù
Definitions:
- to be in straitened circumstances
Characters:
- 左 - left; unorthodox, improper
- 支 - to support, to sustain; to withdraw, to pay; a branch (of a bank)
- 右 - right; right-wing
- 绌 - to stitch, to sew; insufficient
Traditional characters: