**Jury-rig** for a verb; **kludge** for a noun > 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] Using the verb for anything makeshift may be more A.E. The OED limits it to nautical usage: >**Jury**, adj. > > 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. > > 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] >**jury-rig; jerry-build; jerry-rig; gerry-rig.** The first is an authentic nautical phrase, dating from the early 17th century. Derived > from *jury-mast* (= temporary replacement for a ship's broken mast), > the *jury* part here has nothing to do with 12 peers deciding > someone's fate. Instead, according the Barnhardt's *Dictionary of > Etymology*, it probably derives from the Old French word *ajurie* ( = > help) ... [Garner's Modern English Usage][4] (2009) > ---------- For a modern noun, we have > **Kludge** or **kluge** (n) > > A haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a > computer or programming problem > > *Just getting your documents into and out of the iPad is a kludge. You must e-mail them back and forth to yourself or sync to your computer > using iTunes software. —Steve Morgenstern* [M-W][5] ---------- > Both the *OED* and *Green's Dictionary of Slang* credit Jackson W. > Granholm as the first person to use the term. In his 1962 essay "How > to Design a Kludge," he defines kludge as "An ill-assorted collection > of poorly-matching parts, forming a distressing whole." The *OED* > calls it a "jocular invention." [Ace Pilkington et al.; *Science > Fiction and Futurism: Their Terms and Ideas*][6] (2017) [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. [4]: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Garner_s_Modern_English_Usage/mSjnCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jury-rig&pg=PA541&printsec=frontcover [5]: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kludge [6]: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Science_Fiction_and_Futurism/a2VEDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=kludge&pg=PT102&printsec=frontcover