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• catch-as-catch-can
  catch-as-catch-can

  adjective

  Also catch-can taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied.
• catch as catch can
  catch as catch can

  By whatever means or in any way possible, as in There was no formal language program; one simply learned Spanish catch as catch can. This term, in slightly varying versions but with the same meaning, dates from the late 1300s.

catch-as-catch-can

American  

[kach-uhz-kach-kan] / ˈkætʃ əzˈkætʃˈkæn /

adjective

1. Also catch-can taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied.

   He lived a catch-as-catch-can life as an itinerant handyman.

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adverb

1. without specific plan or order.

   They traveled catch-as-catch-can, taking whatever bus or train was most convenient.

noun

1. a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.

catch-as-catch-can British  

noun

1. a style of wrestling in which trips, holds below the waist, etc, are allowed

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adjective

1. using any method or opportunity that comes to hand

catch-as-catch-can Cultural  

1. 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.”

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catch as catch can Idioms  

1. By whatever means or in any way possible, as in There was no formal language program; one simply learned Spanish catch as catch can. This term, in slightly varying versions but with the same meaning, dates from the late 1300s.

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Etymology

Origin of catch-as-catch-can

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Cone collection, done by local residents who are paid by the bushel, is a catch-as-catch-can kind of business.

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024

The catch-as-catch-can “system” of aftercare for school children is a disaster.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023

This is a record of the movie year as I experienced it: fragmentary, catch-as-catch-can, often out of sync with “the conversation” yet somehow astonishingly timely.

From Slate • Dec. 15, 2020

O’Brien’s ensemble mixes realism with contemporary classicism in a catch-as-catch-can way.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2019

Th' sojer was fr'm th' County Kerry an' had a thrip an' Doherty is th' champeen catch-as-catch-can rassler iv Camp Twinty-eight.

From Mr. Dooley Says by Dunne, Finley Peter