One was unable to find adequate supplies to meet the demand(possibly by a customer). This phrase is however used in almost all occassions, but means the same. - When one sees that the available quantity is too scarce or lower than that can meet the demand.
"Scraping the bottom of the barrel," meaning to offer a pathetically weak example or argument, says it pretty concisely.
Lees
There was only one mouldy apple at the bottom of the barrel!
Bottom. Not your bum, rather the bottom of a barrel, or the bottom of the sea. ;)
Lees
it is the bottom part of the back near the bum
No. The Stoeger 3000 has no barrel selector and always fires bottom barrel first.
yes
Barrel - as in water butt or water barrel.
eyepiece
Mateba Autorevolver.
What's at the bottom of a barrel is the oldest stuff that is going to be of less quality than whatever was on top of it. If you're scraping the bottom of the barrel, you're getting poor quality and are pretty much desperate for whatever thing you're trying to dig up.