You can picture contrive as a person with a problem in front of them and only odd bits and pieces to hand. They turn the pieces over, see something nobody else saw, and put together a thing that works: a fan out of a folder, a phone stand out of . Head and hands together. From there, the thing being put together does not have to be an object. It can be a situation someone quietly builds so it turns out their way, or a route through a difficulty that finally gets the job done.
Wiktionary traces contrive to Middle English contreve and Old French controver, which contains trover, to find. The old idea of finding sits well under the modern one: the person keeps looking until a workable way turns up.
Wiktionary 記錄 contrive 來自中古英文 contreve，再往前是古法文 controver，裡面有 trover「找到」。這個「一直找，找到為止」的舊意思，正好墊在今天的用法底下：東西不夠、路不通，這個人還是找出可用的辦法。
Wiktionary entry for contrive (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:644306729), etymology_text supplied in this packet
From the picture
拼出來的不是東西，是局面和結果
同樣是「動腦把零件湊成一個能運作的東西」，只是這裡的零件換成了人、時間和條件。拼出來的成品不是拿在手上的物件，而是一個局面，或是一條走得通的路。
verb · C1
To arrange an event or a situation in a clever, planned way, often secretly or by tricking people, so that things end up the way you want them to.
暗中策劃安排
verb · C1
To make or invent something in a clever way, especially when you suddenly need it and can only use what is already around you.
臨時做出、想出
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
contriveverb/kənˈtɹaɪv/
To invent by an exercise of ingeniosity; to devise
To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation.
To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light.
obsoleteTo spend (time, or a period).
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。