Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Make Bricks without Straw (To). To attempt to do something without having the necessary material supplied. The allusion is to the Israelites in Egypt, who were commanded by their taskmasters so to do. (Exodus v. 7.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Impossibility | Attempt impossibilities; square the circle, wash a blackamoor white; skin a flint; make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, make bricks without straw; have nothing to go upon; weave a rope of sand, build castles in the air, prendre la lune avec les dents, extract sunbeams from cucumbers, set the Thames on fire, milk a he-goat into a sieve, catch a weasel asleep, rompre l'anguille au genou, be in two places at once. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Language | Translations for "MAKE BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Romanian | începe sã faci un lucru fãrã sã ai materialul necesar. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.