shoestring

noun

1. (US)The string or lace used to secure a shoe to the foot; a shoelace.

   “Your shoestring is untied.”

   “I am ſure ſhe is not half ſo beautiful, and vvill even venture to ſay, that ſhe is not vvorthy to tie her majeſty's ſhoe-ſtrings.”

2. (attributive, figuratively, often)An object that is long and thin, like a shoestring (sense 1).
3. (attributive, figuratively, often)An object that is long and thin, like a shoestring (sense 1).

   “shoestring French fries”

4. (attributive, figuratively, often)Chiefly in on a shoestring: very little money; a tight budget.

   “He was able to organize the event on a shoestring.”

   “As the 80s cult classic starring Madonna as a gorgeous grifter returns, director Susan Seidelman recalls capturing the zeitgeist on a shoestring budget[.]”

adj

1. (US, not-comparable)Of a catch or tackle: made near the ground, close to a player's shoes.

verb

1. (transitive)To tackle (a player) using a shoestring tackle (“one made near the ground, close to a player's shoes”).
2. (transitive)To catch (a ball) using a shoestring catch (“one made near the ground, close to a player's shoes”).

   “We didn't score in our half of the eighth, but it was only because Ernie's line drive was shoestringed by the Giant left fielder, with Rusty Howarth on second.”

   “Most outfielders say that short-hopping a ball so that it looks as if it was caught is more an accident than an art form, but Coach Joe Nossek of the Indians actually tells his charges to hold up the ball after shoestringing it on the off chance that the umpire might be fooled.”