Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Posted by Sauerkraut on October 26, 2000

In Reply to: Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink posted by Barney Scott on October 23, 2000

: : 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.