**Jury-rig** (v.) > To erect, construct, or arrange in a makeshift fashion. [M-W][1] > To assemble quickly or from whatever is at hand, especially for > temporary use: > > *To jury-rig stage lights using automobile headlights.* > > [dictionary.com][2] The verb for anything makeshift appears to more an A.E. usage. The OED limits it to nautical usage under the adjective *jury*: > I. Compounds. > > 1. *Nautical*. Used in combination to designate parts of a ship put together or contrived for temporary use. Categories > > a. jury-rig n. > > b. jury-rig v. > > c. jury-rigged adj. ---------- > Etymology > > The phrase 'jury-rigged' has been in use since at least 1788. **The > adjectival use of 'jury', in the sense of makeshift or temporary, has > been said to date from at least 1616**, when according to the 1933 > edition of the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, it appeared > in John Smith's *A Description of New England.* It appeared in > Smith's more extensive *The General History of Virginia, New-England, > and the Summer Isles* published in 1624.[3] > > Two theories about the origin of this usage of 'jury-rig' are: > >-- A corruption of jury mast; i.e., a mast for the day, a temporary mast, > being a spare used when the mast has been carried away. From French > *jour*: 'a day'. > >-- From the Latin *adjutare*: 'to aid'; via Old French > *ajurie*: 'help' or 'relief'. [Wikipedia][3] [1]: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jury-rig [2]: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/jury-rig [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_rigging#:~:text=Two%20theories%20about%20the%20origin%20of%20this%20usage,been%20carried%20away.%20From%20French%20jour%3A%20%27a%20day%27.