Like Nailing Jelly to a Tree

Watch this on YouTube here - Tree Video - YouTube Video

Meaning:

Like Nailing Jelly to a Tree means to deal with a very difficult problem or a problem that cannot be solved. a foolish or worthless attempt at something.

“Ha, that will be like nailing Jelly to a tree.”

In America they say "to nail jello to a tree", Jell-O being a gelatin dessert that comes in fruit flavors.

Origin:

The origins of both these phrases actually lie in politics. Theodore Roosevelt, in 1915 wrote a letter to William Roscoe Thayer talking about the difficulty he was having negotiating with Columbia regarding the Panama Canal, it said:

'You could no more make an agreement with them than you could nail currant jelly to a wall - and the failure to nail currant jelly to a wall is not due to the nail; it is due to the currant jelly.'

Example:

Today we do not hear this expression as much, but if you did hear it, it would mean that a task or situation is impossible. An example sentence would be:

“Trying to have a reasonable debate with her father is like nailing Jello to a tree.”

Watch this on YouTube here - Tree Video - YouTube Video

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