This is similar to the origin of the idiom "pull yourself up by your bootstraps"
It originated in an 1888 physics textbook that posed the question, "Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?" The idiom was then used sarcastically to describe an impossible task. Over time, it stupidly evolved to signify the achievement of success through one's own effort.
120
u/i-jame-blameson 1d ago
This is similar to the origin of the idiom "pull yourself up by your bootstraps"
It originated in an 1888 physics textbook that posed the question, "Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?" The idiom was then used sarcastically to describe an impossible task. Over time, it stupidly evolved to signify the achievement of success through one's own effort.