# on a shoestring (margin)

*Ordinarily means:* operating with very little money or resources

The space between the current state and the wall where a thing ends has nearly vanished, because maintenance has been reduced to the minimum that keeps it inside the window, leaving no buffer for drift or surprise.

- Computed level: L16 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday phrase  ·  Arena: resource-constrained projects

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [margin](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-margin.spatial)

**Through:** none

**Novel properties:**
- margin eaten by optimization

## Examples
- The Hubble Space Telescope operated for years with degraded gyroscopes, relying on minimal hardware to maintain orientation. *(engineering)*
- Detroit's streetlights remained functional in 2012 only because volunteers maintained a fraction of the grid after city budget cuts. *(institutions)*
- The 2008 LHC startup proceeded with reduced cryogenic safety margins after funding delays forced deferred upgrades. *(physics)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-on-a-shoestring.margin*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-on-a-shoestring.margin.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*