Pronunciation trap:
据 here is jū (first tone), NOT jù (fourth tone) as in the much more common
据说/
根据.
拮据 originally meant "laboring hard" (《
诗经·
豳风·
鸱鸮》:
予手拮据) and only later narrowed to mean financially squeezed. Always check the tone — many native speakers misread it too.
