shoestring

American  

[shoo-string] / ˈʃuˌstrɪŋ /

noun

1. a shoelace.

2. a very small amount of money.

3. shoestrings. shoestring potatoes.

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adjective

1. consisting of or characterized by a small amount of money.

   living on a shoestring budget.

shoestring British  

/ ˈʃuːˌstrɪŋ /

noun

1. another word for shoelace

2. informal

   1. a very small or petty amount of money (esp in the phrase on a shoestring )

   2. ( as modifier )

      a shoestring budget

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shoestring Idioms  

1. see on a shoestring.

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Etymology

Origin of shoestring

First recorded in 1610–20; shoe + string

Example Sentences

It was emblematic of her and Corbet’s then-burgeoning philosophy: of making lavish films on a shoestring, using stunning foreign environments to portray a bygone America and roping crew members and family into the collaboration.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the past five years, Tartt, Bandy and a shoestring staff have trained some 60 people on farming the mountain valleys.

From The Wall Street Journal

He finally got some funding from Norman Lear himself and shot the movie on a shoestring budget.

From The Wall Street Journal

Corman, affectionately known as the “Pope of Pop Cinema,” was a god of low-budget horror, a maestro who could turn a shoestring budget into something glittering, gothic, and gloriously unhinged.

From Salon

On the grandest stage, they simply couldn’t overcome their richer, name-brand foes, always in need of one or two more good players that they couldn’t afford on their shoestring budget.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• frivolous
• immaterial
• inconsequential
• insignificant
• irrelevant
• meaningless
• negligible
• null
• trivial
• unnecessary
• useless
• worthless