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  What it means

  Literally “even Solomon cannot pour from an empty vessel.” Even a wise or capable person cannot make something from nothing. It excuses a lack of results when the needed money, energy, or material is missing. People often say it lightly to admit their own limits without blaming themselves.

  English equivalent

  You can't squeeze blood from a stone.

  Vocabulary

  • pustego — empty (genitive singular of pusty, here modifying a masculine noun)
  • Salomon — Solomon (the biblical king proverbially associated with wisdom)
  • naleje — will pour / can pour (third person singular, perfective future of nalewać)

  Grammar note

  The preposition z, meaning 'from' or 'out of', takes the genitive, hence pustego instead of pusty. Nalewać / nalać means to pour liquid into a container. The perfective naleje treats the act as complete. Nie naleje means that it cannot be done.

  Cultural context

  Solomon is the Bible's famous wise king, a familiar figure in Polish Catholic culture. The proverb is a polite, slightly wry way to say, 'I have given all I can.' It is heard in both rural and urban speech.

  Intermediate

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