
ProverbWisdom
English origin
You may as well bid me lade the sea with a nutshell.
Meaning: Attempting impossible tasks with inadequate tools wastes effort and invites ridicule.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Drachenfutter A peace-offering gift brought home to a partner after staying out too late or doing somet…
- Verschlimmbessern To make something worse in a well-intentioned attempt to improve it.
- Sturmfrei The liberating feeling of having the house entirely to yourself — when parents or a partn…
Keep exploring