a slim or frugal amount
little money, food or fuel
to run economically
to get by on meagre or few resources
able to live on the bare minimum
live off (or on) the smell of an oily rag
running on the smell of an oily rag
get by off the smell of an oily rag
When we were students, we didn’t have much money and we got by on the smell of an oily rag most days.
My car might look like an old banger but, it’s more economical than most. It runs on the smell of an oily rag.
Her mother was super thrifty in the kitchen when she was young. She managed to feed the whole family very well on the smell of an oily rag.
I still remember when I had lost my job, I was living off the smell of an oily rag.
I want to help poor Karen. She is lives on the smell of an oily rag.
There is no origin for this idiom
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definition
Common phrase that has a specific meaning.