on the smell of an oily rag

== English == === Pronunciation === === Noun === smell of an oily rag (idiomatic, Australia, New Zealand) A very small amount, or the absolute minimum (usually of money). 1896, Dayrell Davies, "Sport with the Brigands of Macedonia," The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, Longmans, Green, and Co., no. XII (July to December 1896), v. III, pg. 65: We have found them in the remote corners of Asia Minor, sans souliers, sans culottes, often in rags, living on the smell of an oily rag or a raw onion, trying their best to preserve order where their own miserable officials have brought shame and disgrace upon their tarnished colours. 1998, Ian Shaw, quoted in Richard Strauss, Up for Rego: A Social History of the Holden Kingswood, Pluto Press Australia, →ISBN, pg. 33: Full of bog, goes anywhere you want to go, don't pay for insurance, runs on the smell of an oily rag. ==== Usage notes ==== Frequently used in the phrase "run on the smell of an oily rag", with regard to a car's fuel efficiency. ==== See also ====