catch-as-catch-can

The Pursuit of Happynessの主人公は結局離婚し、昼間の仕事はありますが、息子連れのホームレスとなりました。
The deal was this. No one was admitted into the hotel before 6:00 P.M., and everyone had to be out by 8:00 A.M. No one received a key. No going out once you were in for the night, and no leaving your things in the room because they'd be gone when you returned. When you left the room, you took everything you owned with you. No one was assigned the same room two nights in a row.
It was catch-as-catch-can. And if you didn't get there early, before the hotel filled up, you were out of luck. There were no reservations, no one giving you special treatment and saying, "We knew you were coming so we held you a spot."
ホームレスが夜寝られる場所を紹介して貰えましたが、先着順なので毎晩泊まれるとは限りません。上の引用文にある "catch-as-catch-can" はどんな意味でしょうか？　早い者勝ち？　何でしょうか、辞書を見ます。
・Collins Dictionary: (mainly US & Canadian) using any method or opportunity that comes to hand: That right is cherished here, but in practice it's catch-as-catch-can.
・Dictionary.com: Also, catch-can.  taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman.
・Infoplease Dictionary:(idiomatic) intermittent; only when possible or when the opportunity presents itself My efforts lately have been catch-as-catch-can, not carefully planned.
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: the best one can do with whatever is available. We went hitchhiking for a week and lived catch-as-catch-can. There were ten children in our family, and every meal was catch-as-catch-can.
早い者勝ちではありませんでしたね。行き当たりばったり、その日暮らしと言ったところでしょうか。