strapped for

strapped for idiom
In need of, as in We're strapped for cash this week. Originating in the mid-1800s as simply strapped, meaning “in need of money,” the term acquired for in the first half of the 1900s. Now the term is also used for other needs, as in I can't give you any more firewood; I'm strapped for it myself.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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