You cannot get blood out of a stone.
Meaning: Demanding resources from those who lack them is futile; necessity cannot extract what does not exist.
Origin: The image is old: John Lydgate wrote around 1435 that it is hard to lick honey out of a marble stone. Giovanni Torriano's collection of 1662 has the turnip version still common in America, and Charles Dickens used the stone version in David Copperfield. It is said of trying to extract money, help or feeling from someone who simply has none to give.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- Tis a blot on his escutcheon. — A single shameful act permanently mars a person's reputation and family honor, like a sta…
- He who blusters without reason has most reason to bluster. — Empty boasting reveals deep insecurity; the loudest voices often mask the weakest positio…
- I have a bone in my arm. — Claiming disability to avoid work reveals one's character through convenient excuses.
- The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat. — Proximity to difficulty yields greatest reward; best results come from reaching hardest d…
- They that are bound must obey. — Captive people have no choice but to submit to their captor's will and commands.
- A bow long bent at last waxeth weak. — Continuous strain without rest eventually exhausts even the strongest resources or people.
From our idioms
- Kam vietor, tam plášť — To turn with whoever holds power.
- Byť v koncoch — To be at your wits' end.
- Mať dlhé prsty — To be light-fingered; a thief.