From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshoestringshoe‧string /ˈʃuːˌstrɪŋ/ noun [countable] 1 → on a shoestring2 → shoestring organization/operation etc3 American EnglishDCC a shoelace
Examples from the Corpus
shoestring• The Halls are run by a shoestring staff: three full-time and five part-time.• This one, he admits, is a shoestring campaign.• The books give all the insider know-how for staying and getting around a country on a shoestring budget.• Appleton was proud of having done much of his own research on a shoestring.• It was run on a shoestring at the best of times and Kelly was merely adding to his problems.• The trade was extremely competitive and the vessels were run on a shoestring resulting in many losses. 