Does it strike anyone as the least bit ironic that the original meaning of the metaphor behind “Pulling Oneself Up By Ones Bootstraps” is the absurdity of an impossible task? The idea that yanking on the tab of your boot, while laying on the ground, is not actually going to bring you to your feet.

And I realize that the original meaning changed to one of ‘self sustaining effort’ (aka perpetual motion machines), but the original meaning always holds true with me because when you think about the actual words in the idiom it cannot mean anything else: you can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps!  That’s not something that’s possible and trying is the epitome of futility!