clutch, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

clutch n.

1. the hand [its action].

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1938		A.J. Liebling ‘The Jollity Building’ in Just Enough Liebling (2004) 256: Marty the Clutch [...] gets his name from his humorous custom of mangling people’s fingers when he shakes hands with them.

2. (UK society) a dance (the activity, not the event) [the physical proximity of the dancers].

1902		Ade Girl Proposition 8: As for executing a Clutch and swinging into the Slow and Dreamy, that seemed only a vague and far-away Hope of Paradise.
1982		Barr & York Sloane Ranger Hbk 158: clutch n. Dance, as in ‘Come and have a clutch, Caroline’.

3. (US) a pressure-filled situation.

1962

S. Paige Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever 236: The hitters didn’t like that sidearm pitch so I got to pitchin’ overhand and saved the sidearm for the clutch.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

in the clutch [SE clutch, i.e, when one finally ‘grasps’ and deals with a situation]

(US) in the final assessment, ‘when push comes to shove’.

1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 266: He takes care of his kids in the clutch.
1956		Mad mag. Nov.–Dec. 38: Two-all and three to throw up. They were really in the clutch now.
1957		(con. 1943) A. Myrer Big War 272: Maybe he’ll buck up in the clutch. Eschelman was the worst eight-ball in the whole First Division and he came through fine.
1964		R.P. Warren Flood 354: They’re afraid of you in the clutch.
1967		Yankee Air Pirate Songbook n.p.: They’ve flak and MIGs and SAMs and such, / I need a man that's good in the clutch.
1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS.
1981		Cold Crush Bros ‘Fresh Wild Fly and Bold’ 🎵 Cold Crush - us - good in the clutch.
2012		D. Spivey ‘If You Were Only White’ 70: He entertained the spectators with great pitching and the drama he often provided by coming through in the clutch.

shove in the clutch (v.)

(S.Afr.) to get moving.

1963

L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 90: He gave all the marching orders to the boys, called on them to get out of their ‘snooze stands’ (beds), and ‘shove in the clutch’ (get moving).