Zu diesem Begriff habe ich mehrere Definitionen in "thefreedictionary.com" gefunden, z.B.

adj., Using or making do with whatever means are available; irregular: made a catch-as-catch-can living doing odd jobs.

adv., However or by whatever means possible: "Reading was learned catch-as-catch-can, while reindeer farming was learned deeply and thoroughly through the daily rigors of survival" Bunny McBride.

the best one can do with whatever is available: We went hitchhiking for a week and lived catch-as-catch-can. There were ten children in our family, and every meal was catch-as-catch-can.

(american), achieved any way that is possible and not in a planned way: We were working round the clock to finish the project so food and sleep were catch-as-catch-can.

Irgendwie habe ich ein Problem, dafür eine (oder mehrere?) griffige deutsche Definition zu finden. Je nach Beispiel kommt mir in den Sinn "Mit dem Wenigen auskommen, das man hat" oder "Wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst". Das gefällt mir aber alles nicht und passt auch nicht auf alle Beispiele. Kann jemand helfen?