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The idiom “on a shoestring” is commonly used to describe situations where someone has very little money or resources available. However, the origins of this phrase are not entirely clear, as it has been used in various forms throughout history. Possible Origins.
ON A SHOESTRING definition: 1. If you do something on a shoestring, you do it with a very small amount of money: 2. If you do…. Learn more.
Origin. Shoestring is a North American term for a shoelace, the thin lengths of string used to lace and tie shoes. Just why the word is used to allude to limited resources is unknown, although different sources suggest likely allusions. It may allude to the thin shape of a shoestring, or to how common and cheap they are.
Metaphorically speaking, shoestring is a meagre amount of money or meagre resources, as in expressions like ‘on a shoestring, ‘shoestring budget’ etc, and dates from the late 19th century.
Definition: If you do something on a shoestring, you do it with a very small amount of money. Origin. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the first occurrences of the phrase in print was in an 1882 issue of The Century Magazine: “ [He] could draw to a shoe-string, as the saying went, and obtain a tan-yard!”
A US Congressional district was once called the shoestring district because of its shape on the map; a number of plants with long, thin stems or roots have it in their names, such as the prairie shoestring; shoestring potato consists of narrow strips of fried potato.
Aug 26, 2023 · But how did shoestring come to describe a tight budget – one with little money? Well, some word experts say it comes from people who sold small items on the streets. These items often...
