get blood out of a stone
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- get blood from a stone, get blood from a turnip, get blood out of a turnip, squeeze blood out of a turnip
Pronunciation edit
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Verb edit
get blood out of a stone (third-person singular simple present gets blood out of a stone, present participle getting blood out of a stone, simple past got blood out of a stone, past participle (UK) got blood out of a stone or (US) gotten blood out of a stone)
- (idiomatic) To do something difficult, frustrating, or pointless.
- Convincing fussy eaters to try new foods is like trying to get blood out of a stone.
- 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in Our Mutual Friend. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:
- Bradley looked at the fire, with a working face, and was silent for a while. At last he said, with what seemed an inconsistent composure of voice and feature: ‘You can’t get blood out of a stone, Riderhood.’
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XII, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
- "I suppose the law has some protection to offer them."
"Can the law get blood out of a stone? I haven't any money. I've got about a hundred pounds."
Usage notes edit
- Often found in the proverbial form: You can't get blood out of a stone.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit
Translations
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