jerry-built
Adjective: 1. Constructed poorly and hastily using cheap or inferior materials: Describes something, typically a building or structure, that has been built quickly and without care, resulting in low quality and likely lack of durability. Example: The developer was known for his jerry-built apartment complexes that began to crumble after a few years.
The term "jerry-built" is almost always used attributively (before a noun) to describe the poor quality of construction. It carries a strong negative connotation, implying carelessness, dishonesty, or a deliberate attempt to cut corners for profit. It is often applied to buildings but can be extended metaphorically to other things made poorly.
- Adjective:
- After the storm, the jerry-built shed collapsed completely.
- They bought a jerry-built house and soon faced endless repair bills.
- The report criticized the jerry-built nature of the new infrastructure project.
- Metaphorical Extension: The term can be applied to non-physical constructs that are poorly conceived or executed.
- The software update felt jerry-built, full of bugs and glitches.
- His argument was jerry-built on a foundation of assumptions and half-truths.
- Jerry-builder (noun): A person or company that constructs jerry-built buildings.
- The neighborhood was ruined by the work of a notorious jerry-builder.
- Jerry-building (noun): The act or practice of constructing buildings in this poor manner.
- The city council passed new regulations to prevent jerry-building.
- Shoddy: Badly made or done.
- Flimsy: Insubstantial and easily damaged.
- Makeshift: Serving as a temporary substitute; not permanent or reliable.
- Slapdash: Done too hurriedly and carelessly.
- Well-built: Constructed solidly and with skill.
- Sturdy: Strongly and solidly built.
- Sound: In good condition; solid and reliable.
While "jerry-built" itself is not typically part of a larger idiom, its meaning is synonymous with the concept of "built on sand," which describes something with an unstable or weak foundation. - Their business plan was built on sand and collapsed at the first sign of trouble.
- of inferior workmanship and materials
- mean little jerry-built houses