SCRAPE THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

v. phr. , informal To use or take whatever is left after the most or the best has been taken; accept the leftovers. At first they took out quarters, but they had so little money that they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel and paid with nickels and pennies for their lunch. The garage owner had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a qualified mechanic to work for him.