strictly from hunger

(strictly) from hunger

Of very poor quality; terrible. His first novel showed a lot of promise, but his second one was really from hunger. The plot is nonexistent, the acting is mediocre at best, and the jokes are strictly from hunger. Don't waste your time or your money on this stinker.
See also: hunger
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

(strictly) from hunger

mod. very strange; acceptable only when nothing else is available. The singer was strictly from hunger.
See also: hunger, strictly
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • (strictly) from hunger
  • from hunger
  • hunger
  • strictly
  • a hungry belly has no ears
  • I'm terrible at names
  • I'm terrible with/at names
  • hit the spot
  • hit the spot, to
  • perish with
References in periodicals archive
His magazine pieces were collected in a long series of books, including Strictly from Hunger (1937), Westward Ha!; or, Around the World in Eighty Cliches (1948), and The Road to Miltown; or, Under the Spreading Atrophy (1957).
Perelman, S.J
His collected writings include Dawn Ginsberg's Revenge (1929); Parlor, Bedlam and Bath (1930); Strictly from Hunger (1937); Keep it Crisp (1946); Crazy Like a Fox (1944); Acres and Pains (1947); The Best of S.J.
Perelman, S(idney) J(oseph) (1904-1979)
Among his more than twenty books are Strictly from Hunger (1937), Westward Ha!
Perelman, S(idney) J(oseph)