On A Shoestring

Welcome to English in a minute.

These are shoestrings.

They tie up shoes.

Let’s see how Anna and Jonathan explain this one.

Jonathan, I’m ready for the party!

How do you like my shirt?

Um, I hope you didn’t pay a lot of money for that.

Not at all.

I made it on a shoestring.

I can believe it.

Shoestrings do not cost a lot.

So, if you do something on a shoestring, you do it using very little money.

You can also use “shoestring” as an adjective.

Someone might say, “I decorated my house on a shoestring budget.”

And that’s English in a minute!