Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on
hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury
rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast. Jury-
rig has been in use since 1788 but the adjectival use of "jury" in the sense of makeshift or temporary dates from at least 1616, when it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New
England.
A false etymology is that "Jerry-rigged" was employed by World War II
British troops to refer to the German use of scavenged parts to keep vehicles and weapons functional, from the use of "Jerry" as a pejorative term for German soldiers.