eke out
verbal phrase

- to supplement or stretch something meagre so that it lasts

- to make a supply last by economy

- to manage to make a living with difficulty

- to support oneself by careful use of limited resources

American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

Eke is one of the oldest surviving verbs in English. It comes from the Old English ēacan, meaning to increase, add to or enlarge, from the Proto-Germanic root aukan (“to increase”), a distant cousin of the German auch (“also”) and Swedish öka (“increase”).

Originally, eke simply meant to add a little more. Around the 16th century, eke out acquired its modern meaning: to stretch something insufficient so that it lasts, or to obtain something only through continual effort.

A linguistic curiosity survives from the old noun eke. An eke-name meant “an additional name”. Over the centuries, eke-name was misheard as "nickname". So every time you use the word nickname, you’re preserving a centuries-old relative of eke out.

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HAVING JUST ENOUGH

Most languages have plenty of words for abundance. Far fewer have a good expression for barely getting by,… that's exactly the meaning of eke out.

It describes the uncomfortable middle ground between poverty and having enough

,... where people get through on patience, cleverness and persistence.

In English, companies eke out a profit, governments eke out a majority, sports teams eke out a win, and farmers eke out a living. Modest achievements which don’t come easily.

We're not good at noticing slow progress. We spot the breakthroughs, not the tiny gains. Yet most careers, businesses and relationships grow almost entirely in small steps,... success coming in fractions, not leaps.

Start-ups spend years eking out just enough revenue to last another month. Progress rarely looks impressive while it's happening. Fireworks may get applause, but most real progress is often just one careful step after another.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

barely exist, economize on, EKE OUT, extract, garner, get by, glean, husband, make do (last), scrape by (together), scratch out, squeeze / stretch out,  wring (out)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Even on busy days, we can EKE OUT a little extra time for doing what we love."

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