{"id":2957,"date":"2022-04-08T17:16:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T17:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=2957"},"modified":"2022-04-08T17:16:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T17:16:06","slug":"pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone to put more effort into their work or life? If so, you could say to them, \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of the expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>If someone tells you to \u201c<em>pull yourself up by your bootstraps<\/em>,\u201d they are telling you to suck it up and get on with life. It\u2019s a motivating statement designed to get you unstuck and moving, regardless of the situation or circumstances. It\u2019s also a way of telling someone that they are responsible for pulling themselves out of a bad time in their life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cYou really need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps with your studies. I\u2019ve told you that you need to do your homework or you\u2019re going to fall behind in class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, or you\u2019ll never get out of this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen to me; you need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you want to make the team this year. I need to see that you want it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time for you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get to work. I\u2019m not keeping you on at the end of the month unless you show me some effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPull yourself up by your bootstraps or find yourself another job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2958\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps-256x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"172\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps-256x300.jpg 256w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps.jpg 369w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 172px) 100vw, 172px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2959\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pull-Yourself-Up-By-Your-Bootstraps2.jpg 358w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>Language experts are unsure about the origin of the expression, \"pull yourself up by your bootstraps.\" Some language experts think it comes to war, where tired soldiers would use their bootstraps as leverage to pull themselves to a standing position after sitting down for a while.<\/p>\n<p>As mentioned, the meaning of the expression is to get yourself out of a predicament. So, the war origin makes sense, as a person experiencing extreme fatigue in a battle situation would only have themselves to rely on to get back to an alert mindset and physical state.<\/p>\n<p>James Joyce used the phrase for the first time in his 1922 work, \"Ulysses.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"There were others who had forced their way to the top from the lowest rung by the aid of their bootstraps.\"<\/p>\n<p>British authors Kunitz &amp; Haycraft would use the expression in the 19th century.<\/p>\n<p>\"A poet who lifted himself by his own bootstraps from an obscure versifier to the ranks of real poetry.\"<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83d\udd35 Bootstraps- Pull Yourself Up By Your Own Bootstraps Meaning-  Pull Yourself Up By The Bootlaces\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0D_osOBo6xA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Whatever it takes.<\/li>\n<li>Get it together.<\/li>\n<li>Where is your head at?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I\u2019ll do it for you.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t worry about it.<\/li>\n<li>That\u2019s okay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.<\/li>\n<li>Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with the physical act of pulling yourself up. Nor does it have anything to do with bootstraps. Some people may use the word \u201cboots\u201d instead of \u201cbootstraps,\u201d which would be incorrect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps\u201d When you\u2019re telling someone to change their behavior and start looking out for themselves. The saying suits professional and social use. For instance, the manager could say to you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps after posting bad sales numbers for the month. In this case, they\u2019re telling you to improve your performance.<\/p>\n<p>Or, your parents could tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps after bringing them a bad report card. In this case, they\u2019re telling you to improve your studies. The versatile saying suits many occasions where you tell people to better their performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone to put more effort into their work or life? If so, you could say to them, \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of the expression. Meaning If someone tells you to \u201cpull yourself up by your bootstraps,\u201d they are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2957"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3070,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2957\/revisions\/3070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}