jerry-built

Hastily thrown together

Jerry-built means hastily or shoddily constructed, using cheap materials and poor workmanship.

A jerry-built structure looks thrown together and won't last: The jerry-built shed collapsed after the first heavy snow.

The term suggests cutting corners rather than building properly.

Sometimes confused with jury-rigged, which means improvised from available materials in an emergency.

shoddiness

shoddy

Of poor craftsmanship

substandardBelow required quality
inferiorOf lower rank
cheapLow in price

flimsy · ramshackle · rickety · crude · tacky · shabby · second-rate · slipshod · gimcrack · cheapjack

improvisation

makeshift

Temporary, improvised substitute

jury-riggedTemporarily fixed with scraps
cobbledSurfaced with rounded stones
riggedFraudulently arranged beforehand

thrown-together · kludged · patched · stopgap · band-aid · ad-hoc · provisional · bodged · rough-and-ready · scrounged

instability

unstable

Prone to sudden change

ricketyUnsteady, liable to collapse
shakyTrembling or unstable
precariousDangerously insecure

wobbly · tottering · unsteady · unsafe · unsound · weak · crumbling · ramshackle · teetering · unreliable

Categories

shoddinessslipshod, slapdash, hack job, botch job, botch
makeshift fixesquick fix, stopgap, duct tape, band-aid, bandaid
rough-and-readymakeshift, improvised, crude, rough, provisional
inferiorinferior, substandard, second-rate, second-class, subpar

Opposites

construction quality

jerry-builtwell-built

Durably and skillfully made

sturdy · solid · substantial · strong · stable

craftsmanship

jerry-builtworkmanlike

Efficiently competent, unflashy

masterful · meticulous · polished · well-done · expert

planning and engineering

jerry-builtpurpose-built

Made for specific function

well-planned · custom-built · sophisticated · exact

Family

jerrybuilt, jerrybuild

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G