During the worst part of the recent financial crisis, our company lost a lot of business and really suffered. We are back to normal now, but it was touch and go (Auf der Kippe) for a while there.
This phrase comes from the shipping industry. In the days when most transport was done by sailing ships, transferring goods or passengers from one ship to another was a difficult and dangerous undertaking. The two vessels would have to sail so close to each other that they actually touched, and then „go“.