东拼西凑 patch together
Explanation
形容零散地拼凑，凑合。多用于贬义，表示凑合的东西质量不高。
Describes something that is scattered and pieced together. It is often used in a derogatory sense, indicating that the pieced-together thing is of low quality.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，有个秀才名叫李秀才，家境贫寒，但是一心想考取功名，光宗耀祖。有一天，他听说邻县有个名师，就想去拜师求学。但是李秀才囊中羞涩，身上没有几个钱。无奈之下，他只好四处奔走，向亲朋好友借钱。他东家借十两，西家借五两，七拼八凑，总算凑够了路费。他告别了家人，踏上了前往邻县求学的路程。一路上，他风餐露宿，克服了种种困难，终于到达了目的地。拜见了名师之后，他勤奋好学，刻苦钻研，最终学有所成，考取了功名，实现了他的梦想。
It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar named Li, who came from a poor family but still had the desire to pass the imperial examination and bring honor to his ancestors. One day, he heard of a famous teacher in the neighboring county and decided to visit him to learn. However, Li was very poor and did not have much money. Therefore, he had to run around everywhere and borrow money from relatives and friends. He borrowed ten taels here and five taels there, and finally, with much effort, he gathered enough money for his journey. He said goodbye to his family and set off for the neighboring county. On his way, he experienced many hardships and overcame difficulties until he finally reached his destination. After visiting the famous teacher, he studied diligently and learned hard, until he finally improved his knowledge and passed the imperial examination, thereby fulfilling his dream.
Usage
多用于描述凑集的过程和结果，侧重于过程的零散和结果的不完整。
It is often used to describe the process and result of gathering, emphasizing the scattered nature of the process and the incompleteness of the result.
Examples
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为了完成这个项目, 我们东拼西凑, 终于在截止日期前完成了。
wèile wánchéng zhège xiàngmù, wǒmen dōng pīn xī còu, zhōngyú zài jiézhǐ rìqí qián wánchéng le.
In order to complete this project, we gathered everything together and finally completed it before the deadline.
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他东拼西凑了一些材料，写了一篇论文。
tā dōng pīn xī còu le yīxiē cáiliào, xiě le yī piān lùnwén
He collected some materials and wrote a paper.