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Scraping the bottom of the barrel means using the worst options because nothing better is left. It describes a situation where someone has run out of good choices.
The expression comes from the days when food such as salted fish or pickles was stored in wooden barrels. Once the good pieces were taken, people had to scrape the bottom to get what remained.
The expression comes from the days when food such as salted fish or pickles was stored in wooden barrels. Once the good pieces were taken, people had to scrape the bottom to get what remained.
If those are the best candidates they could find, they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel.