Meanings
plural buckets of bolts
- idiomaticslangA piece of machinery that is not worth more than its scrap value, often an old car.
On the outside, the Trans-Am still looked like a rusty bucket of bolts, but if all his little adjustments kicked in as planned, the thing should take off like a rocket.
2005, Sharyn McCrumb, St. Dale, page 141Synonyms: rattletrap, rustbucket, banger, beater, bucket of rust, clunker, crate, crock
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA piece of machinery that is not worth more than its scrap value, often an old car.
Translations
Catalan cafetera
- cafeteramachinery that is not worth more than its scrap value
French tas de ferraille
- tas de ferraillemachinery that is not worth more than its scrap value
Italian scarcassone
- scarcassonemachinery that is not worth more than its scrap value
Polish szmelc
- szmelcmachinery that is not worth more than its scrap value
Cite this entry
bucket of bolts. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bucket%20of%20bolts
“bucket of bolts.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bucket%20of%20bolts. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bucket of bolts,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bucket%20of%20bolts.
Source: bucket of bolts on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.