empty quiver

9.9

Having nothing needed to deal with a problem

noun

Literature

: carcaj vacío

He entered the negotiation as an empty quiver, totally lacking any strong arguments or leverage.

Examples

After losing their funding, the researchers felt like an empty quiver facing the next phase of their project.
Without backup supplies, the hikers realized they were an empty quiver against the worsening weather.
Don't go into a negotiation with an empty quiver!
An empty quiver isn't a good sign for a warrior.
He entered the negotiation as an empty quiver, totally lacking any strong arguments or leverage.
Without backup supplies, the hikers realized they were an empty quiver against the worsening weather.
After losing their funding, the researchers felt like an empty quiver facing the next phase of their project.

Synonyms

unpreparedness

vsempty quiver

1 5.1

A situation when someone is not ready and does not have what is needed

is a metaphor expressing lack of resources rather than a literal state

Antonyms

prepared

103 1.3

Ready to use or do something when needed

ready

1 2.3

The state of being prepared to act immediately

equipped

4.0

Having the tools or skills needed for a job

Surface Forms

empty quiver singular

empty quivers plural

Morphology

empty + quiver

The meaning is directly inferable from 'empty' (having no contents) + 'quiver' (a case for arrows): an empty quiver literally means no arrows and therefore a lack of means or readiness. This container/metaphor for being unprepared is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely grasp the intended sense.

Etymology

Empty quiver comes from the image of an archer's quiver, the small case for arrows. If the quiver is empty, the archer has no arrows to use. So calling someone an empty quiver means they are 'unprepared' or 'lacking the resources' to act.