" He must be hard up for a sweetheart, " declared Marguerite.

“他一定是为了一个心上人而手头拮据，”特宣称。

Or you could say, she can't afford to buy a new car because she's hard up for money right now.

或者你可以说， 她买不新车，因为她现在缺钱。

There are degrees in being hard up. We are all hard up, more or less—most of us more. Some are hard up for a thousand pounds; some for a shilling. Just at this moment I am hard up myself for a fiver.

困难是有。我们或多或少都手足无措——我们中大多数人更甚。有些人为了一千英镑而苦不堪言；有些为了一先令。就在这一刻，我为一个五元钱而苦恼。