shoestring

Definitions

shoe + string (a tightly twisted cord). A shoestring is literally a shoelace — thin and slight. That slightness became a metaphor for money: 'on a shoestring' means running something on almost nothing, as flimsy as a bootlace.

Why It Means This

Why does a shoelace mean 'tiny budget'? A shoestring is about the thinnest, cheapest thing you can imagine. By the 1800s 'on a shoestring' described gamblers and traders working with laughably small capital — as if a bootlace were all they had to bet with. The image of something stretched dangerously thin stuck.

Common Collocations

• 1.shoestring budget极少的预算
• 2.on a shoestring靠极少的钱
• 3.run on a shoestring小本经营

Example Sentences

• 1.

  They launched the startup on a shoestring budget.

• 2.

  The film was made on a shoestring but looked expensive.