I always smile when I see that phrase, "pull yourself up by the bootstraps," because the phrase originally meant "do something impossible," back in the 1700s. A

I always smile when I see that phrase, "pull yourself up by the bootstraps," because the phrase originally meant "do something impossible," back in the 1700s. As in, this thing you're trying to do is as easy/difficult as lifting yourself off the ground by your own bootstraps. I'm not arguing the "lift yourself up through effort" meaning is wrong. That's been the most common meaning since the 1960s, with some examples dating to the 1930s. But still, I get a chuckle, because the new meaning is also nearly impossible for most people too, without a bit of luck or extraordinary circumstances. :)