as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a jerry-rigged switch to keep the machine in operation until it can be repaired
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Recent Examples of jerry-rigged
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerry-rigged
Adjective
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Never mind the clumsy wording — taxes on U.S. citizens working abroad aren’t excessive so much as excessively complicated — this is one campaign promise that may actually be fulfilled, given the Republican control of both houses of Congress.Tyler Cowen, Sun Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2024
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Walker believed traditional bass and treble controls were a clumsy way of tweaking tonal balance.Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Given that Ontario is not a major producer of crude oil, Ford’s threat appeared to specifically apply to electricity the United States imports from Canada.Matt Egan, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
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Canada provides natural gas to the U.S. and roughly 20% of the crude oil used by its southern neighbor.Ahmad Mukhtar, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The report comes during a rough period for the retail pharmacy giant.Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2024
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Being a rookie who is recovering from a second ACL injury and second ACL surgery soon after recovering from the first ACL injury and surgery is a whole another level of rough.Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Wondering how to get out of Dodge without being rude?Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
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The officers weren't rude, angry, or insolent — as required of a battery conviction — and used their training and legal authority to do their jobs.Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But the study was deeply flawed, according to the standards of scientific research.Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
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Since then of course, Burgundy has come to dominate the fine wine market, building on its own extensive history and reinforcing its status, however flawed, with a clear hierarchy of quality through the Premier and Grand Cru system.Paul Caputo, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerry-rigged. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
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