TIL: You can 'eke out' a bad situation
I've always associated the phrase eke out with cases where what's eked out is something good. That's the implication of the Merriam-Webster entry:
1: to make up for the deficiencies of : SUPPLEMENT
eked out his income by getting a second job
2: to make (a supply) last by economy
And similarly from the Wiktionary entry:
1. (transitive) To supplement.
The old man eked out his pension by selling vegetables from his garden.
2. (transitive) To obtain with difficulty or effort.
He eked out a living selling vegetables from the garden.
Wiktionary's etymology supports this view:
From obsolete eke (“to add to, augment; to increase”) + out.
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