catch-as-catch-can

[kach-uh z-kach-kan] /ˈkætʃ əzˈkætʃˈkæn/
adjective
1.
Also, catch-can. taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied:
a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.
adverb
2.
without specific plan or order:
They lived catch-as-catch-can.
noun
3.
a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.
Compare Greco-Roman (def 3).
Origin
1885-90
Examples from the web for catch-as-catch-can
  • At the dawn of humanity, and for much of our history since, meals were literally catch-as-catch-can.
  • He finds earning a catch-as-catch-can living in agriculture and river work a day-to-day struggle and worries about the future.
British Dictionary definitions for catch-as-catch-can

catch-as-catch-can

noun
1.
a style of wrestling in which trips, holds below the waist, etc, are allowed
adjective, adverb
2.
(mainly US & Canadian) using any method or opportunity that comes to hand
catch-as-catch-can in Culture

catch-as-catch-can definition


A phrase that describes a situation in which people must improvise or do what they can with limited means: “We don't have enough textbooks for all of the students, so it'll be catch-as-catch-can.”

Slang definitions & phrases for catch-as-catch-can

catch-as-catch-can

modifier

Precarious; requiring keen readiness: We lived a catch-as-catch-can life those first few years (1880s+)