1. scrape the bottom of the barrel - Verb
2. scrape the bottom of the barrel - Phrase
scrape the bottom of the barrel (third-person singular simple present scrapes the bottom of the barrel, present participle scraping the bottom of the barrel, simple past and past participle scraped the bottom of the barrel)
(idiomatic) To settle for a poor option due to a lack or unavailability of anything better
They must really have been scraping the bottom of the barrel if they couldn't find a better design than that.