scratched together
Cobbled from scraps
To scratch together is to assemble something with difficulty, gathering resources from various sources: We scratched together enough money for rent.
The image is of scraping up scattered bits—coins from pockets, favors from friends, materials from wherever available.
The phrase emphasizes effort and improvisation rather than abundance.
- cobbledSurfaced with rounded stones
- rudimentaryIn simplest possible form
- amassedGathered in abundance
- piecedJoined from fragments
- bits and piecesAssorted small items
makeshift · salvaged · bricolage · foraged · made do · ingenuity · rainy day fund · collected · scarcity · bootstrap · scrounged · insufficiency · repurposed · constraint · jury-rigged · compiled · scavenged · hodgepodge
scratched togetherpremeditated
Planned before acting
orchestrated · prearranged · coordinated · designed · blueprinted
scratch, scratched, scratching, scratches, scratcher, scratchy, together, gather, gathered