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jerry-built

American  
[jer-ee-bilt] / ˈdʒɛr iˌbɪlt /

adjective

  1. built cheaply and flimsily.

    Synonyms:
    slipshod, shoddy, rickety, ramshackle

  2. contrived or developed in a haphazard, unsubstantial fashion, as a project or organization.

Etymology

Origin of jerry-built

1865–70; jerry (as in jerry-build ) + built

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.