clamp / bind
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to be in a bind
To be in a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation that is hard to get out of.
Ich habe meinen Geldbeutel vergessen und stecke jetzt ohne Fahrkarte in der Klemme.
I forgot my wallet and now I'm in a bind without a ticket.
'Die Klemme' belongs to the verb 'klemmen' (to jam, to pinch, to be stuck). Both the technical device (m02) and the difficult situation (m01) derive from this idea of being stuck or caught.
Die Schublade klemmt schon wieder.
The drawer is jammed again.
The figurative meaning is used almost exclusively in the fixed expressions 'in der Klemme stecken' (to be in a bind) or 'in der Klemme sitzen' (to be in a bind). You can also say that you help someone 'aus der Klemme' (out of a bind).
Er hat sein ganzes Geld verloren und steckt jetzt tief in der Klemme.
He lost all his money and is now in a serious bind.
You can recognize the idiomatic meaning by the fixed structure 'in der Klemme + verb'. The technical meaning is often specified by adjectives, e.g. 'elektrische Klemme' (electrical terminal), or as part of a compound word, e.g. 'Schraubklemme' (screw clamp).
Wegen des Streiks saßen hunderte Reisende am Bahnhof in der Klemme.
Because of the strike, hundreds of travelers at the station were in a bind.
In the technical sense, 'Klemme' is often used with verbs like 'anschließen' (to connect), 'befestigen' (to fasten), or 'lösen' (to loosen/disconnect). Common compounds are 'Batterieklemme' (battery terminal), 'Schraubklemme' (screw clamp), or 'Lüsterklemme' (terminal block, for electrical cables).
Du musst das schwarze Kabel an der negativen Klemme anschließen.
You have to connect the black cable to the negative terminal.
contact
'der Kontakt' and 'die Klemme' can both appear in technical or electrical contexts. But they do not mean exactly the same thing. A 'Kontakt' is the point where an electrical connection is made or broken. A 'Klemme' is a part that holds or connects something, for example a cable. There can be a 'Kontakt' inside an electrical terminal, but the 'Klemme' is more the component, while the 'Kontakt' is more the connection point. The words can be confused because both occur with cables and devices. If you mean the part that holds the cable, say 'Klemme'; if you mean the electrical connection, say 'Kontakt'.
Steck das Kabel vorsichtig in die Klemme und zieh die Schraube fest.
Carefully insert the cable into the terminal and tighten the screw.
Der Kontakt im alten Schalter ist locker, deshalb geht die Lampe manchmal aus.
The contact in the old switch is loose, so the lamp sometimes goes out.