This idiom describes managing to live within one’s financial means, often with difficulty, by ensuring income covers expenses, as if stretching resources to make the ‘ends’ of a budget align. It conveys a struggle to maintain financial stability, typically used in economic, personal, or social contexts to highlight frugality or economic hardship. The phrase carries a tone of effort, resilience, or quiet desperation, reflecting cultural anxieties about poverty and the human effort to balance limited resources. It resonates in societies where economic survival is a daily challenge, capturing the grind of making do with what’s available, and often implies a precarious existence where careful budgeting or extra work is necessary to avoid destitution. The idiom’s simplicity belies its emotional weight, making it a poignant expression of financial survival.

The phrase likely originated in 17th-century England, rooted in bookkeeping or tailoring metaphors, where ‘making ends meet’ meant aligning financial ledgers or fabric edges, symbolizing balance. An early use appears in Thomas Fuller’s 1662 *The History of the Worthies of England*: ‘Worldly wealth he cared not for, desiring only to make both ends meet.’ The idiom gained traction in the 18th century, reflecting mercantile culture’s focus on financial management, as seen in Samuel Pepys’ diary entries about household budgets. Its use grew in 19th-century British and American literature, particularly during industrialization’s economic disparities, with Charles Dickens’ *Bleak House* (1853) depicting characters struggling financially. The phrase’s adoption was amplified during the Great Depression, when ‘making ends meet’ became a universal refrain in labor songs and John Steinbeck’s *The Grapes of Wrath* (1939). Its spread to American and Commonwealth English came through British influence and media, and its vivid imagery, evoking the effort to connect two ends, and its applicability to economic struggle ensured its enduring use across English-speaking cultures, from working-class narratives to modern financial advice.