What it means
A cheap, slapdash repair or DIY fix that’s been cobbled together to do the job, even if it’s barely hanging on. It works in the loosest sense, but it looks rough and you wouldn’t trust it for long. Expect gaffer tape, wonky angles, and a couple of “spare” screws that definitely weren’t meant to be spare.
Usage examples
"Who fitted this kitchen, then? Gaz from down the pub. Proper bodge job, innit. Drawer falls out if you look at it, worktop’s gaffer-taped on."
"The plumber did a right bodge job, the leak was back within a week."
"It is a bit of a bodge job, but it will hold until we get the proper part."
Where it comes from
Built on bodge, the British cousin of botch, meaning to do something clumsily and badly. A bodge job is a repair or piece of work cobbled together carelessly, with whatever was lying around, so it might hold for now but will not last. The shelf fixed with too much tape and hope, the wiring that just about works, that is a classic bodge job.
Other ways to say it
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