somebody has to pinch themselvesused when a situation is so surprising that the person involved needs to make sure that they are not imagining it 某人得掐自己一下〔以证实某情况是真实的〕 Sometimes she had to pinch herself to make sure it was not all a dream. 有时候她得掐自己一下,以证明这一切不是在做梦。
→ somebody has to pinch themselves at pinch1(1)