a camel through the eye of a needle
- idiom
- Literature
:
una tarea imposible
- For many, buying a house in this market seems like a camel through the eye of a needle.
Examples
-
Getting that project done on time feels like a camel through the eye of a needle.
-
Convincing him to change his mind was a camel through the eye of a needle.
-
Getting an approval for the project is a camel through the eye of a needle in this company.
-
It feels like a camel through the eye of a needle!
-
For many, buying a house in this market feels like a camel through the eye of a needle.
-
Convincing him to change his mind is a camel through the eye of a needle.
-
Getting an approval for the project is a camel through the eye of a needle in this company.
Synonyms
∞
3.1
A difficult task that tests a person's skill and will
5
5.6
A difficult and impressive achievement
4
5.3
A situation or task that is hard to do
3
7.2
A task that is so difficult people think it cannot be done
1
5.2
A very difficult task that you must overcome
A very difficult task that needs a lot of effort
A very difficult problem or task that tests your skill
A very difficult and frustrating task
Antonyms
How Difficult
∞
1.4
- Literature
183
4.4
51
1.8
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
a + camel + through + the + eye + of + a + needle
The phrase relies on a culturally conventionalized, hyperbolic image (a large camel passing through the tiny eye of a needle) whose figurative meaning ('extremely difficult or impossible') is not produced by standard compositional combination of the constituent words. A B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings would not reliably infer the idiomatic sense without prior exposure or cultural knowledge, so this is an opaque idiom.
Etymology
The saying a camel through the eye of a needle comes from an old Bible story and paints a vivid picture: imagine trying to force a huge camel through the tiny eye of a needle. That impossible image is why the phrase means 'a very difficult or impossible task'.