It would be unseemly for judges to receive pay increases when others are having to tighten their belts.

在其他人都得勒紧裤腰带过活的时候给法官们加薪是不合适的。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

Because of unemployment many people had to tighten their belts.

由于失业，许多人不得不勒紧靠裤带生活。

youdao

In a period of mass unemployment a lot of people must learn to tighten their belts.

在大批人失业其间，很多人不得不束紧腰带，省吃俭用。

youdao

When this happens, poor people have to tighten their belts and live on less money than usual.

VOA: special.2009.10.18

But Prince Abdullah has bluntly declared that all Saudis will have to tighten their belts.

ECONOMIST: Saudi Arabia on the dole

It is too much to ask people to tighten their belts twice, as it were, figuratively and literally.

ECONOMIST: European politics

While some firms are expanding, the downturn in the UK has prompted many others to tighten their belts.

BBC: New jobs at Subway amid more cuts