with extreme care or delicacy; "they proceeded with gingerly footwork over the jagged stones"; "the issue was handled only in a gingerly way"- W.S.White
in a gingerly manner; "gingerly I raised the edge of the blanket"
facing or experiencing financial trouble or difficulty; "distressed companies need loans and technical advice"; "financially hard-pressed Mexican hotels are lowering their prices"; "we were hard put to meet the mortgage paymentng"; "it was apparent that the magazine was in trouble"; "found themselves in a bad way financially"