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In earlier times, wandering peddlers offered townspeople a variety of items and trinkets, such as fabrics, embroidery materials, and even patent medicines. Another popular offering from these traveling salespeople was shoelaces. The fact that such vendors neither earned much money nor charged very much for their wares led to the connection of their literal shoestrings with a metaphorical application of "shoestring" to a very small amount of money. It's still not uncommon to hear of a business being operated on a shoestring (even if these days it's less likely that actual shoelaces are involved), but it's also possible to speak of "traveling on a shoestring" and even "gardening on a shoestring."
Synonyms
Examples of shoestring in a Sentence
Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2024
Nix stepped out of a shoestring tackle late in the fourth quarter while scrambling for 21 yards to set up the Broncos’ last field-goal attempt.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2021
Recent polls show that public opinion of Trump is souring as former Vice President Joe Biden pulls ahead in crucial swing states, despite a shoestring campaign and self-confinement to his Delaware home.
—Justin Sink, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2020
See all Example Sentences for shoestring 
Dictionary Entries Near shoestring
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoestring. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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