Jerry-build definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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He is aware that at such points, for example, as the reference to authorities in the chapter on the biological problem, and to books in the educational chapter, the lacunar quality of his reading and knowledge is only too evident; to fill in and complete his design -- notably in the fourth paper -- he has had quite frankly to jerry-build here and there.

—Mankind in the Making

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Definitions (1)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

transitive verb To build shoddily, flimsily, and cheaply.

Century Dictionary

GNU Webster's 1913

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Examples (2)

He is aware that at such points, for example, as the reference to authorities in the chapter on the biological problem, and to books in the educational chapter, the lacunar quality of his reading and knowledge is only too evident; to fill in and complete his design -- notably in the fourth paper -- he has had quite frankly to jerry-build here and there. — Mankind in the Making
It takes half a year to jerry-build a dingy street, but it takes a decade for newly-planted trees to give the woodland air by imperceptible stages to a stretch of country. — Post-Prandial Philosophy