Making bricks without straw (Exodus 5:7-8)

meaning

Today, making a brick without straw means trying to achieve something without the proper materials. Figuratively, it means doing work that is nearly impossible to achieve .

origin and application

After Jacob and his family moved to Egypt, their descendents multiplied in the land of Egypt. Pharoah, the king of Egypt, was worried that the Israelites might one day outnumber the Egyptians, so he decided to put them into slavery in making bricks and doing all kinds of field work. Fearing that they did not have enough work, the king ordered the slave masters not to supply the Israelites with straw for making bricks. So the Israelites had to gather straw for themselves, but the number of bricks to be made was not reduced.

example

Driving an underfunded project is like making brick without straw.