you can't get a quart into a pint pot

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word you can't get a quart into a pint pot. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word you can't get a quart into a pint pot, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say you can't get a quart into a pint pot in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word you can't get a quart into a pint pot you have here. The definition of the word you can't get a quart into a pint pot will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofyou can't get a quart into a pint pot, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Proverb

you can't get a quart into a pint pot

  1. (literally) You cannot fit a large object or amount in something smaller.
  2. (figurative) One cannot achieve the impossible.
    They've asked me to get from London to New York by five o'clock, but it's half past four now, and you can't get a quart into a pint pot!
    • 1962 October, “New Reading on Railways: The Flying Scotsman 1862-1962. By C. Hamilton Ellis. Allen & Unwin. 6s.”, in Modern Railways, unnumbered page:
      The centenary of Britain's most famous train has called for a commemorative and descriptive work and in this 40-page illustrated booklet the author has tried—with some success, to pour a quart into a pint pot.

References