Skip to main content

Is there a single noun in English for 'jerry-rigged?'


Gambiarra in Brazilian Portuguese means a device, solution, or means to an end made impromptu, usually in a sloppy way and lacking care.


I was wondering if there was a single word in English for such a concept.


The closest I found was the two-word verb 'jerry-rig,' but I couldn't find a noun for it.



Answer



Besides Cool's good suggestion of
• slapdash (“Done hastily; haphazard; careless”, but I'd substitute not careful in place of careless)
and suggestion of
• slipshod (“Done poorly or too quickly; slapdash”, but I'd say slipshod work is lower in quality than slapdash work),


and the suggestions in comments of
• hack (“An expedient, temporary solution, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date” or “A try, an attempt”),
• kludge (“an improvised device, usually crudely constructed” or “any construction or practice, typically inelegant, designed to solve a problem temporarily or expediently”),
• jury-rig (“To create a makeshift, ad hoc solution from resources at hand” with synonyms MacGyver and hack), and
• MacGyver (“To assemble, or cause to be repaired or completed, an object, device, machine, or project from duct tape as the preferred repair tool, but in its absence, other items, (normally common, ordinary and mundane such as a rubber band or paper clip)...”),


also consider
• lash-up (“A crude improvisation or bodged effort”),
• bodge (“To do a clumsy or inelegant job, usually as a temporary repair; patch up; repair, mend”), and
• stop-gap (“A temporary measure or short-term fix used until something better can be obtained”).


[Note, I edited my former answer into this sort-of-bulleted list, and added interpretive notes on slipshod and slapdash.]


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more