But his remarks, seized on by the president's Democratic rivals, leave the president in a tight spot.
The government's resistance to price increases leaves consumer-product companies in a tight spot.
Sinn Fein have made the best of a tight spot in propaganda terms.
It is when politicians are in a tight spot that a barrage of ridicule can help to bring them down.
Eventually, the diplomats hope, Iran, in an increasingly tight spot, will reach for both as its ladder to climb down on.
But incidents in Okinawa serve to further entrench local opposition to the base relocation plan, leaving Mr Abe in a tight spot.
The Lebanese government might find itself in a tight spot if there is proof that the three men are linked to Hezbollah.
It also puts FirstGroup in a tight spot shares swiftly plummeted by 20%.
He may have pretended to be, argues David Marsh, an author and expert on the euro, but Mr. Cameron helped him out of a tight spot.
There was a tangible sense of relief at full-time at the Emirates after Fabregas, not for the first time, provided the spark that rescued the north Londoners from a tight spot.
Then, last December, Mrs Lincoln abruptly found herself in a tight spot, wavering so chronically over health reform that liberals decried her lack of guts, conservatives marked her as vulnerable and independents searched for an alternative.
ECONOMIST: A spirited scramble for suddenly open Democratic seats
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.
As it is, Canada, Mexico and Venezuela already are the key suppliers of oil to the U.S. But middle eastern oil nations have gotten the U.S. into more than one tight spot on foreign policy matters.
We already are seeing some early efforts to make this happen, such as built-in navigational systems, Bluetooth devices for hands-free phone calls and stream music, and sensors and cameras that help a driver park in a tight spot.
He told us right up front that he felt he was just too old and too nervous to go out on patrol and that, because of his nerves, we couldn't depend on him if we got in a tight spot.
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.
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.
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.
This reality puts Japan in a tight and uncomfortable spot as the U.S. indulges the dangerous pretensions of third tier actors in Southeast Asia.
FORBES: The Noda-Obama Summit and U.S. Defense "Rebalancing" toward Asia
Its distinctive square bottle was less likely to break when packed tight, and easy to spot across a smoky bar.
ECONOMIST: Persuading Africans to switch from beer to Scotch
Girls with braids longer than shoulder length or boys with tight trouser cuffs had the offending parts snipped off on the spot, as these were deemed bourgeois fashions.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Visions of China: Peking University
Despite Suarez sealing the three points with a stunning second-half strike from a tight angle, the crucial breakthrough that infuriated Bruce so much was the spot-kick awarded 11 minutes before the interval.
The distinctive diamond-shape cabinets provide high rigidity for tight and deep bass reproduction, and cater for a very wide sweet-spot, filling even large rooms with music from these impressive compact speakers.
ENGADGET: Philips showcases its 2013 Fidelio audio lineup at CES, we go eyes-on
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