IdiomTopic: money

on a shoestring

/ɒn ə ˈʃuːstrɪŋ/INFORMAL · C1

Meaning

with very little money

Examples

1We furnished the flat on a shoestring using donated furniture.
2Running a theatre on a shoestring requires plenty of volunteers.
3With almost no funding, the team made its film on a shoestring using borrowed equipment.
4Could you organise a wedding on a shoestring with only two hundred pounds to spend?
5Their tiny budget meant travelling on a shoestring, sleeping in tents and cooking every meal.

Grammar

An adverbial phrase describing how something is done. Keep on and the indefinite article a.

Similar in meaning

strapped for cash

More idioms about money

All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →

money doesn't grow on treesmoney is limited, so you should not waste it penny-pinchingunwilling to spend money cost an arm and a legto be very expensive break the bankto cost more than you can afford tighten your beltto spend less money than before make ends meetto have just enough money to live on

English Idioms

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