Well, it isn't that busy at work. Nothing like it has been these past couple of weeks. I spent some time these past couple of days transcribing my stories from the legal pad I use to the computer. Today, I thought I would start work on a whole new story. However, I have found myself to be stuck. No ideas, no nothing. I told Megan I am dead. She said she was sorry.
In any case I thought it's like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip and then I wondered where that saying came from. So I started googling it online and before I could find anything I had this mental image of a white turnip, no wait it's a carrot and it's white because this vampire rabbit had sucked it dry.
I know that's a weird thought. A vampire rabbit, but I swear I did not create this concept. I think it was a book that I had read as child called Vampire Rabbit . This memory causes me to suspend my search on the blood and turnip quote to look up the book.
Bunnicula! Now I remember. This family goes to see Dracula and they find a baby rabbit in the theater and name it Bunnicula. It's the family dog who is the narrator in this book turned tv show turned movie. See, I did know what I was talking about.
However, I still did not find the origins of "Squeezing Blood From A Turnip." As such I returned to that search.
According to one search result from The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002., the phrase means "You can only get from people what they are willing or able to give."
Hmmm. That's not exactly what I was looking for and so my search continues.
UsingEnglish.com tells me this: "When people say that you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, it means that you cannot get something from a person, especially money, that they don't have."
I know what the phrase means. What I am searching for is the origin. Other sites give me very similar explanations and definitions.
One website (bloodlessturnip.com) has a home page that appears to be like a very long rant against those who try to convince church members to give money they do not have for offering. I read that for awhile because it was kind of interesting.
Ehhhh. Everywhere else I see the quote the credit is given to Mr. Anonymous . This man is brilliant. I see him credited for many sayings that sprinkle our vernacular.
I gave up on searching for the origins of that phrase and instead switched to finding a picture of that victimized carrot. However, all the pictures I found were of regular carrots or Carrot Top.
All those pictures of carrots made me hungry. I really wish I could get something to eat. Instead, I think I'll go back to working on that story.
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