scrape the bottom of the barrel
To use or select from the last or worst of the resources or options from a particular range or set, even if they are not satisfactory, because there are no others to choose from. We used to get hundreds of qualified candidates, but lately I feel like we've been scraping the bottom of the barrel with the applicants we bring in. A: "These were the best you could get?" B: "Sorry, the selection was already picked through, so I really had to scrape the bottom of the barrel even to find those."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
scrape the bottom of the barrel
to select from among the worst; to choose from what is left over. You've bought a bad-looking car. You really scraped the bottom of the barrel to get that one. The worker you sent over was the worst I've ever seen. Send me another—and don't scrape the bottom of the barrel.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
scrape the bottom of the barrel
tv. to utilize the last or only things or people available, even if unsatisfactory. (see also
bottom of the barrel.)
They were really scraping the bottom of the barrel when they picked you. McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
bottom of the barrel, scrape the
Obtain the last dregs, the least desirable remains. The sediment of wine was likened to the lowest, most despicable elements of society nearly two thousand years ago by Cicero. The metaphor remains current.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer