catch-as-catch-can
[ kach-uh z-kach-kan ]
/ ˈkætʃ əzˈkætʃˈkæn /
adjective
Also catch-can.
taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.
adverb
without specific plan or order: They lived catch-as-catch-can.
noun
a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist.
Compare Greco-Roman(def 3).
Origin of catch-as-catch-can
First recorded in 1885–90
Words nearby catch-as-catch-can
catch stitch,
catch the drift,
catch up,
catch-22,
catch-all,
catch-as-catch-can,
catch-colt,
catch-cord,
catch-up,
catchall,
catchcry
British Dictionary definitions for catch as catch can
catch-as-catch-can
noun
a style of wrestling in which trips, holds below the waist, etc, are allowed
adjective, adverb
mainly US and Canadian
using any method or opportunity that comes to hand
Cultural definitions for catch as catch can
catch-as-catch-can
A phrase that describes a situation in which people must improvise or do what they can with limited means: “We don't have enough textbooks for all of the students, so it'll be catch-as-catch-can.”
Idioms and Phrases with catch as catch can
catch as catch can
By whatever means or in any way possible, as in There was no formal language program; one simply learned Spanish catch as catch can. This term, in slightly varying versions but with the same meaning, dates from the late 1300s.