on a shoestring

Idioms  

1. With very limited financial means, as in The newlyweds were living on a shoestring. The precise allusion in this term is unclear. One fanciful theory is that debtors in British prisons would lower a shoe by its laces from a window so as to collect funds from visitors or passers-by. A more likely theory is that it alludes to the slender shape of a shoelace, likening it to slender resources. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on a shoestring

Because Lululemon was running on a shoestring budget, Wilson rented one hotel room for them to share, with separate beds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

For a while, it relied on a shoestring team that included two analysts, an economist, a director of research and a risk manager.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“We’re working on a shoestring now,” McDonnell said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025

"Council staff are working hard every day to deliver for their local communities while facing the stress of government funding cuts and having to operate on a shoestring."

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2024

Forced to operate on a shoestring, one black school in Durham squeezed 51 students into a single classroom.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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