Definition

Verb (phrasal verb): - To manage or get by, especially with difficulty or in a barely adequate manner. It implies coping with a situation, often one that is financially or personally challenging, without thriving or experiencing ease.

Usage

This phrasal verb is used to describe a situation where someone is just managing to survive or cope, typically with limited resources. It often carries a connotation of struggle or making do.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "rub along together": This variant emphasizes two or more people managing to coexist or get by together, often despite differences or difficulties.
  • They have very different personalities, but they rub along together surprisingly well as roommates.

Variants and Related Words

• Get by: A more common synonym with a very similar meaning of managing to survive, especially financially.
• Scrape by: Suggests an even tighter, more difficult situation than "rub along."
• Manage: A more general term for handling a situation.
• Cope: To deal effectively with something difficult.

Synonyms

• Get by
• Make do
• Scrape by
• Survive
• Manage
• Cope

Phrasal Verbs

• Rub along is itself a phrasal verb. It is intransitive and does not take a direct object. It can be followed by adverbial phrases (e.g., , ).

Related Idioms

• Make ends meet: To have just enough money to pay for one's basic necessities. This idiom is very closely related in meaning to "rub along" in financial contexts.
  • Compare: "They rub along on his teacher's salary" is similar to "They struggle to make ends meet on his teacher's salary."

Verb

1. manage one's existence barely
   • I guess I can squeeze by on this lousy salary