this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Today I Learned

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TIL “Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps” was originally meant sarcastically, or to suggest an impossible accomplishment, because it is impossible for someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps (media.kbin.social)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

No one can pull you up by your bootstraps. They can pull your boots up by your bootstraps. The original phrase refers to an impossible task whether or not anyone else is involved. That’s why it’s sarcasm.