Cliché: can't squeeze blood out of a turnip

Meaning: You can't get something from a thing that doesn't have it (example)


Rewrite 1: can't squeeze orange juice out of an apple
Rewrite 2: can't squeeze milk out of barn wood
Rewrite 3: can't make a stack of nickels out of a pile of nails
Rewrite 4: can't tap maple syrup from an oak stump
Rewrite 5: can't tap the stream of a bottomless well


Comments: This cliché is usually said of trying to get money or value from someone who is broke or without resources; however, it is also said of trying to tap other resources that don't exist or make something of another thing that doesn't make sense. I've attempted to address all those senses.


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