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Unfortunately I have not found complete explanation of the phrase: "Have you ever squeezed water from a stone".

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2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

The normal expression is like getting blood from a stone, used to convey the difficulty of extracting something from someone or something that is reluctant to yield it.

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1  
Often used in conversations like, "You owe me $100!" "Hey man, it's like getting blood from a stone." Meaning, I don't have any money, squeeze all you like, you won't get anything. – Jay Dec 7 '11 at 21:16
I'd say also, conveys a wasted effort, but I'm not a native speaker, correct me if I'm wrong. – stivlo Dec 8 '11 at 4:44
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It is wasted effort, but the expression is not used to meant that. The emphais is on the difficulty of the operation. – Barrie England Dec 8 '11 at 7:43
up vote 5 down vote

I agree with Barrie (+1) that the most usual idiom is blood from a stone. Water from a stone is likely a malformation of the standard idiom. There may also be regional differences. For example, I've also heard "blood from a turnip".

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