(a.) Pecuniarily embarrassed through owning much unprofitable land.

depressed dire distressed donsie doomful down to bedrock embarrassed evil-starred fatal feeling the pinch fortuneless funest hapless hard up ill off ill-starred impecunious in Queer Street in adverse circumstances in narrow circumstances in reduced circumstances in straitened circumstances inauspicious land-poor luckless narrow ominous on the edge out of luck out of pocket pinched planet-struck poor poorly off reduced sad short short of cash short of funds short of luck short of money squeezed star-crossed straitened strapped unblessed underprivileged unfortunate unhappy unlucky unmoneyed unprosperous unprovidential