eke out
eke out {v.}
1. To fill out or add a little to; increase a little.
Mr. Jones eked out a country teacher's small salary by hunting and trapping in the winter.
The modest meal was eked out with bread and milk.
2. To get (little) by hard work; to earn with difficulty.
Fred eked out a bare living by farming on a rocky hillside.
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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms
