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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.

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7y ago
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7y ago

Accepting something of lesser quality.

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Q: What does the expression 'to scrape the bottom of the barrel' mean?
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What does the idiom scrapping the barrel mean?

In the old days before individually wrapped servings of everything, many foodstuffs were shipped in barrels, and sold from the barrel. Pickles, for example; the merchant would open the top of the barrel, and customers would reach into the barrel with tongs and take the pickle they wanted. Since the customers could easily see the pickles, they would normally pick a good-looking pickle, leaving the less desirable ones behind. So, the pickles at the "bottom of the barrel" were the ones that nobody else wanted. In trying to pick up one of these least-desirable pickles, the customer would "scrape the bottom of the barrel". So, to "scrape the bottom of the barrel" is to have selected one of the least-liked options.


What does the expression rock bottom mean?

you have hit an all time low in your life. "rock bottom"


What does the expression scraping the bottom of the barrel mean?

I think it means that you have nothing left and you're digging in your pockets for money that you don't have. Basically it means being down to your last resort, or having to take what's left when everyone else has taken theirs.


What does the expression 'crabs in a barrel' mean?

Its an analogy to human behavior. One tries to get ahead, and the others will crawl over it, bringing it down.


What does the expression keeled over mean?

The keel is the bottom of a boat. If you "keel over," then you are bottom-up, or you have fallen over. This usually means became unconscious, not just fallen down.


What does the number under the bar code on a grizzly dip can mean?

Its the quality of the dip 0 being the bottom of the barrel 12 being the top.


What is the meaning of barrel of laughs in idiomatic expression?

A barrel of laughs is a way of saying something is extremely funny. It's a humorous way of describing the situation. Imagine a barrel filled with laughter. A barrel of laughs is also used to mean something really fun to do. You might even hear it used sarcastically to mean something isn't fun! An example would be "We had a barrel of laughs at the party last night!"


What does you envy the de frost in the rear window of your car mean?

Do you mean defrost, as in a car window. Maybe some reference to defrosting the rear window with a button inside the car and not having to get out in the cold a scrape, scrape, scrape so you can see behind you while driving.


What does Thurber mean by Are you scraping around the bottom of the pickle barrel?

The phrase "scraping around the bottom of the pickle barrel" means going to extra effort to find something of the slightest value where there might not be anything and being unable to find anything. This question for example. One might say: With all the important aspects of the story "The Catbird Seat" being used up in about 40 previous questions, they must have really been scraping the bottom of the pickle barrel to find this one."


What does s Davy Jones locker mean?

Davy Jones' Locker refers to the bottom of the ocean, it's used as an expression for death among sailors and shipwrecks.


What does abrasion mean in the First Aid Manual?

an abrasion is a scrape or a graze.


What do you mean when you say what's on tap today?

The expression comes from bars, taverns or inns, where local beers or ciders were served from the barrel by pump taps. "What's on tap?" therefore meant "What beers or ciders are available today?"The expression has been extended into common usage meaning "What has to be done today?"