Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink
I remember this phrase from a literary text I read in high school, but I do not remember the name or author.
Homer Simpson spoofed this phrase on the Simpsons when he was stuck on a raft with his boyscout son.. "Water water everywhere, so let's all have a drink!"
just thought i'd throw that factoid in..
if you literary geniuses can help, email me!
The precise quote is:
"Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink"
but the meaning is the same. It's from The Rime
of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge -
when the Ancient Mariner is stuck in the middle
of the sea.
And because the ancient mariner is on the open ocean, the water is all salt and unfor for consumption - thus his lament.