dougofakkad t1_jaon4v1 wrote on March 2, 2023 at 10:58 PM Reply to comment by Fake_William_Shatner in TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots. by meat-juice And an actual baron! Permalink Parent 4
dougofakkad t1_jaon4v1 wrote
Reply to comment by Fake_William_Shatner in TIL "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps" is an example of an impossible task. The idiom dates at least to 1834, from the Workingman's Advocate: "It is conjectured that Mr. Murphee will now be enabled to hand himself over the Cumberland river or a barn yard fence by the straps of his boots. by meat-juice
And an actual baron!