quick-and-dirty fix
- noun
- Informal
:
solución rápida
- When the car broke down, he used a quick-and-dirty fix to get it running long enough to reach the mechanic.
Examples
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The programmer implemented a quick-and-dirty fix to the software bug to meet the deadline.
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OK, so this was a quick and dirty fix a while back.
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Rather than finding a permanent solution, she opted for a quick-and-dirty fix that would last until the repairs could be made.
Synonyms
27
4.2
A fast temporary solution that only works for a short time
3
9.6
A temporary repair to make something work for a short time
1
3.9
A quick, temporary fix that does not solve the real problem
A quick solution used for a short time until a proper fix is found
A quick, ugly fix that is not reliable
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Morphology
quick-and-dirty + fix
The meaning 'a hasty, makeshift solution' is directly inferable from combining 'quick' (fast) and 'dirty' (sloppy/untidy) with 'fix' (repair). The adjective 'quick-and-dirty' transparently describes the manner of the fix and this productive compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely understand the MWE.
Etymology
Quick-and-dirty fix comes from the image of a repair done very fast: quick (fast) and dirty (messy or rough), like a mechanic making a quick, messy repair so a machine will run. So it means 'a fast, not perfect solution' that is often 'temporary'.