meat-juice
meat-juice OP t1_jarf5h9 wrote
Reply to comment by Greene_Mr 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
Molesting boys in his church and fleeing town probably contributed to that as well...
meat-juice OP t1_jaowz9o wrote
Reply to comment by SCWarriors44 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
So getting sick and going bankrupt is your own fault? Being laid off because your management made poor decisions is your own fault? It's the fault of those who experience generational racial barriers? Inflation is your own fault? Greedy landlords are your own fault? I could keep typing for a while...
We all benefit from society's structure... the idea of a self-made person is a myth.
meat-juice OP t1_jaoupta wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] 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
Feels like a "Let them eat cake" moment to me now...
meat-juice OP t1_jao9sgn 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
>Would that be tremendous luck and/or lots of people with money who like the cut of your jib?
And the jib was a person's nose... but before that, it was the sail on a ship lol.
meat-juice OP t1_jao1wi0 wrote
Reply to comment by WaterChi 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
This was my outrage as well... We should all admit that it rarely works in the Horatio-Alger-way we think it does
meat-juice OP t1_jao1tch wrote
Reply to comment by Raaka-Kake 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
Yes, pulling himself and his horse out of the swap by his pigtail haha.
meat-juice OP t1_jarfcfn wrote
Reply to comment by davogrademe 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
Perhaps... but try jumping over a river that way... ;- )