Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
 
Help

catch as catch can

 - 2 dictionary results

catch-as-catch-can

[kach-uhz-kach-kan]
–adjective
1. Also, catch-can. taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.
–adverb
2. without specific plan or order: They lived catch-as-catch-can.
–noun
3. a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist. Compare Greco-Roman (def. 3).

Origin:
1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To catch as catch can
Idioms & Phrases

catch as catch can

By whatever means or in any way possible, as in There was no formal language program; one simply learned Spanish catch as catch can. This term, in slightly varying versions but with the same meaning, dates from the late 1300s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see catch as catch can on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: