by (one's) (own) bootstraps

by (one's) (own) bootstraps

By one's own efforts to improve one's life or circumstances, rather than relying on others. After I declared bankruptcy, I had to haul myself up by my bootstraps and rebuild my financial standing. Poor people just need to drag themselves up by their own bootstraps, huh? Well, that lacks quite a lot of nuance, don't you think? I know you're heartbroken by this breakup, but you just have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get back out there into the dating scene.

See also: bootstrap, by

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

by one's bootstraps

see under pull oneself up.

See also: bootstrap, by

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

by (one's) (own) bootstraps

By one's own efforts.

See also: bootstrap, by

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.