crunch time
expression

- a critical moment or period when decisive action is needed

(Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)

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WORD ORIGIN

Crunch has been used in the sense of "a decisive point in time" for many decades.

Winston Churchill was fond of the word and is claimed to have popularised it when he first used it in 1939. Churchill, and then others, frequently applied it in the phrase "when it comes to the crunch." This essentially means the point at which a critical decision or action is required. It is usually appears in a two-part sentence such as,

"When it comes to the crunch, we must decide what direction we want to take the company."

Crunch is also part of the expression "credit crunch." This is a frequently used term that refers to a sudden reduction in the general availability of loans (or credit), or a sudden increase in the cost of obtaining loans from banks. It is sometimes referred to as "credit crisis" or "credit squeeze."

Crunch time is a shortened version of "when it comes to the crunch," and may have evolved as a combination of "crunch" and "show time" (slang for the time at which an activity is to begin). It can be found in a variety of contexts like politics, business and sports:

"Crunch time for Theresa May as Brexit vote looms"

"Crunch Time: Europe's Self-Imposed Banking Crisis"

"Crunch time for Newcastle fans desperate to see return of human touch"

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SYNONYMS

it's now or never, it's do or die, it's the moment of truth, it's the point of no return

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Practice OWAD in a conversation

"December is always CRUNCH TIME for us because our fiscal year ends on December 31."