to scrape along
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To get along in the world with difficulty, finding it hard to "make both ends meet.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to scrape along” mean?
To get along in the world with difficulty, finding it hard to "make both ends meet.
Is “to scrape along” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.