scraping together
Gathering with difficulty
Scraping together means gathering something with difficulty, usually by collecting small amounts from various sources.
The image is of scraping the bottom of containers to get every last bit: We scraped together enough money for rent, She scraped together a meal from leftovers.
The phrase emphasizes that what's assembled is barely sufficient and required effort to obtain.
- scrabblingFrantic scratching or groping
- gatherBring or come together
- collectBring items together
- assembleJoin parts together
- savingReserving for future use
rainy day fund · accumulate · pooling · change · nickel and dime · cobbling · odds and ends · scrounging · jury-rigging · last-ditch · last resort · amass · spare change · crumbs · resourcefulness · coins · makeshift · bare bones
scraping togetherrolling in
Arriving continuously, abundantly
drowning in · abounding in · lousy with · coming into · inheriting
scraping togethersquandering
Reckless depletion of resources
frittering away · blowing · throwing away · dissipating · scattering
scrape, scraping, together, scraper, scraped, scrapes, scrapings