You can't get blood out of a stone.石头里榨不出油。
此谚语有两重意义:一是指不能无中生有;一是比喻吝啬的人不会对别人施予什么。
关于上述两义,还有以下一些谚语:
Nothing comes out of the sack but what was in it.(也可写作Nothing comes from nothing.)
袋子里装什么才能倒出什么。
It is no use pumping a dry well.
枯井打水,徒劳无益。
Misers put their back and their belly into their pockets.
守财奴宁可打赤膊饿肚皮,也舍不得掏腰包。
以上几句的意思就像出自《孟子》的一句成语“缘木求鱼”,根本是不可能的。
相似的谚语可另参阅:It is lost labour to sow where there is no soil.