The analysis by Ricardo and Bernstein shows the carmakers are in a tight spot: given motorists' aversion to the cost of electrics and hybrids, the quickest route towards meeting the deadlines for cutting emissions is to invest heavily in cleaning up their petrol and diesel cars.

ECONOMIST: Carmakers: Revenge of the petrolheads | The

The Lebanese government might find itself in a tight spot if there is proof that the three men are linked to Hezbollah.

BBC: Lebanon nervous over Hezbollah link

Their move puts the civilian opposition in a tight spot.

ECONOMIST: Politics in Venezuela: No way out? | The

Lehman Brothers economist Drew Matus thinks the Fed is in a tight spot as it heads toward its August meeting, as slowing economic growth coincides with an inflation level that's outside Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's comfort zone.

FORBES

Sinn Fein have made the best of a tight spot in propaganda terms.

ECONOMIST: Ulster��s murder mystery

He rolls up the window and gives all his attention to the car, to backing it out of its tight spot and moving it so as not to come in contact with the van, as if there were no more to be said or managed.

NEWYORKER: Amundsen

Eventually, the diplomats hope, Iran, in an increasingly tight spot, will reach for both as its ladder to climb down on.

ECONOMIST: Diplomacy for diplomacy's sake

The man can reel off 98 mile-per-hour fastballs at the letters at will when he's in a tight spot, and so watching him nick corners and change speeds is like watching Carmelo Anthony pass and set picks: not what you're paying for and totally beside the point.

WSJ: Why Matt Harvey Is Not Dwight Gooden

The government's resistance to price increases leaves consumer-product companies in a tight spot.

WSJ: China Fines Unilever for Price Comments