Getting blood out of a stone

We use the idiom “getting blood out of a stone” when we’re talking about trying to do something that is impossible. We often use it about money:

• I’m trying to get him to pay his bill, but it’s like trying to get blood out of a stone.
• He asked his parents for more pocket money, but it would have been easier getting blood out of a stone.
• Persuading her boss to pay her more money was like trying to get blood out of a stone.

We also use the phrase about trying to get someone to speak to us:

• I’ve phoned several times but getting through to the right person is like getting blood out of a stone.
• I asked my son to tell me what was wrong, but he wouldn’t say anything; it was like trying to get blood out of a stone.

An expression with a similar meaning is “flogging a dead horse”. In this case “flogging” is used in its meaning of hitting or beating. If the horse is dead, hitting it won’t make it move!

• You will never persuade him that he’s wrong, so it’s no use flogging a dead horse.
• We’ve already discussed this. If you try to talk about it again, you’ll just be flogging a dead horse.
• Why do you want to flog that dead horse? You’ll never get them to agree.

Posted by Graham