He went from being at the bottom of the barrel to being an inch above the bottom of the barrel.

Here is the first new collection of Rohmer stories in years, and they are the absolute bottom of the barrel! Detective stories, romances, war stories — everything but the "strange stories" advertised in the title.

The bottom of the barrel as far as accommodation in the Ville Nouvelle goes.

I know it’s hard work in our game, and you get to a point, 15 years into a career, where you’re not bringing in much dough. But it’s proper bottom of the barrel, a celebrity Britain’s Got Talent.

Bottom of the barrel

Meaning

Noun