hand-to-mouth existence
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Locked down for two months in crumbling apartments in a mob-infiltrated town north of Naples, their hand-to-mouth existence has grown even more precarious with no work, no food and no hope.
From Washington Times • May 2, 2020
The military seemed like the only way out of a hand-to-mouth existence, so Harris enlisted in the branch that seemed least dangerous.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 10, 2019
That means life in an underground metal band is frequently a hardscrabble, hand-to-mouth existence.
From The Guardian • Nov. 7, 2017
Given their typical hand-to-mouth existence, professional poets remain a rare breed here.
From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2015
After a hand-to-mouth existence, but still a free one, in England, he had allowed himself to be nabbed by the police, like the veriest simpleton!
From A Nest of Spies by Allain, Marcel
