scrape the bottom of the barrelとは 意味・読み方・使い方

別の表記

• scrape the barrel

語源

Derived from the historical practice in the early European history of storing food in barrels; when food supplies ran low, only what was on the very bottom of the barrel remained, and had to be removed by scraping.(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Oil in a barrel has different fractions with a different weight. The heavier fractions like asphaltum sink to the bottom of the barrel and can be difficult to scrape from the bottom.^[1]

発音

動詞

scrape the bottom of the barrel (三人称単数 現在形 scrapes the bottom of the barrel, 現在分詞 scraping the bottom of the barrel, 過去形および過去分詞形 scraped the bottom of the barrel)

1. (idiomatic) To settle for a poor option due to a lack or unavailability of anything better

   They must really have been scraping the bottom of the barrel if they couldn't find a better design than that.

   • 1961 October, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 635:

     The bottom of the barrel was scraped on August 22 when Shrewsbury had to produce Taunton
     2-6-0 No. 6312 to work the 8.10 p.m. from Paddington between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury; the stranger was in trouble in the early hours of the next morning at Hollinswood, but managed to reach Shrewsbury.

   • 2004, Ronald Carey, The War Above the Trees, Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 259:

     We have so few ships that are mission—ready, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. We are to the point where three damaged ships are being stripped to make one flyable ship.

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