scrape by
Verb
Meaning
manage one's existence barely
Source: WordNetSynonyms
rub along
scrape along
squeak by
squeeze by
scratch along
live
move
exist
deal
survive
depend
manage
cope
fare
contend
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Antonyms
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Examples
England has the most sordid literary scene I've ever seen. They all meet in the same pub. This guy's writing a foreword for this person. They all have to give radio programs, they have to do all this just to scrape by. They're all scratching each other's backs.
You can't make a living as a playwright. You can barely scrape by.
I guess I can squeeze by on this lousy salary