the smell of an oily rag

the smell of an oily rag

A very meager, slim, or frugal amount of resources, especially money or fuel. As in the phrases "live off/on the smell of an oily rag" or "run off/on the smell of an oily rag," respectively. Primarily heard in Australia, New Zealand. I spent a year travelling abroad, and I lived on the smell of an oily rag to get by. This trusty little car may not look like much, but she runs on the smell of an oily rag.
See also: of, oily, rag, smell
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • (I've) got to take off
  • be off for (something)
  • be off for sth
  • (Now) where was I?
  • be well off for (something)
  • be well off for something
  • be off with you
  • break off
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • bounce off the walls
References in periodicals archive
"New Zealand doesn't have a boxing heritage and there's no government funding of boxing, so we've done it on the smell of an oily rag," said Higgins.
My dad is called Dempsey.. I was born to be a boxer; KIWI KID PARKER ON THE DEBT HE OWES HIS PARENTS
"We did what we could to promote it--the survey was done on the smell of an oily rag as we didn't have any external funding--and we're happy with the information," Ravenswood said.
Aged care a societal concern researcher: a leading aged-care researcher believes little will change in the sector until more people are concerned about the situation
He crashed out on one over and said: "I'm just out of puff - I've been running on the smell of an oily rag these last two days."
DAVID'S IN DUTCHING DISTANCE
Asked about the secret to his team's success, Dalton said: "It's a team that lives on the smell of an oily rag. Everyone buys into the culture and the way we operate.
New Zealand team take home Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai
But then McDowell arrived in the State known as 'America's Dairyland' running on the smell of an oily rag after the drain of capturing June's US Open.
STEPHEN'S STRAIT UP; Scot Gallo stays in the hunt after marathon
Like most small rural facilities, we are great at providing basic services on the smell of an oily rag.
Concerned about positions lost at Maclean
Brilliantly, scramjets use hydrogen as fuel, so the future of air and space travel may not even need the smell of an oily rag.
Sonic boom: Tokyo to New York in six hours?