jerry built
Shoddily constructed. Hyphenated if used before a noun. The origin of the term is unknown. You could tell house was jerry built. It looked like it would blow over in a strong wind! Yeah, you didn't fool Mom for a second with that jerry-built story you concocted.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
jerry-built
mod. carelessly and awkwardly built. The lawyer’s case was jerry-built, but the jury bought it anyway.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
jerry built
Constructed in a cheap, ramshackle, or otherwise insubstantial fashion. Although the phrase is widely thought to have come from the British World War I slang term for “German,” it well antedates the 20th century. Some possibilities are an old English word for tumble, Jericho (as in Joshua causing the walls to come tumbling down).
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price