dribs and drabs
Small sporadic amounts
Small, scattered amounts arriving irregularly over time rather than all at once.
The phrase nearly always follows "in": Information came in dribs and drabs.
Both words are rare outside this expression—drib meaning a small drop or trickle, drab a small sum.
The redundancy emphasizes inadequacy: not enough, and frustratingly piecemeal.
- smatteringSmall scattered amount
- dribletTiny, insignificant amount
- trickleThin, slow stream
- piecemealIn separate stages
- little by littleIn small increments
morsels · bits · fragments · odds and ends · staggered · fits and starts · smidgens · bits and pieces · spurts · sporadic · here and there · now and then · crumbs · incremental · episodic · intermittent · drops · patchy
dribs and drabsall at once
Occurring without gradual buildup
in one go · in bulk · wholesale · en masse · in its entirety
drib, dribs, drab, drabs, dribble, dribbles, dribbled, dribbling, dribbler