It's mission impossible to put boots on the foreign ground on the shoestring budget ... "
Robert McNamara
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mission impossible
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Noun 1. mission impossible - an extremely dangerous or difficult mission
mission, charge, commission - a special assignment that is given to a person or group; "a confidential mission to London"; "his charge was deliver a message"
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boots on the ground
English
Etymology
US 1980. Attributed to United States General Volney F. Warner, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor (April 11, 1980) in reference to the Iranian Hostage Crisis
Noun
boots on the ground pl (plural only)
1.Used other than as an idiom: see boots,ý on,ý ground. ;
2.(military, metonymically) The ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict, rather than troops not engaged or other military action such as air strikes. The Pentagon may say we have enough, but that's not what I'm hearing from the boots on the ground.1.The military policy of using ground forces. ;[quotations
3.(by extension) Personnel operating in an area of interest. ;
Synonyms]
(ground forces): BOG (military)
(military policy): landpower
See also
feet on the ground
References
1. Safire, William (November 7, 2008), “On Language - Let's Do This”, in New York Times
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shoestring budget
(redirected from shoe string budget)
shoestring budget
A budget or allotment of resources that is very meager, sparse, or just enough to suit its purpose.
Unfortunately, due to government cutbacks following the recession, our department has had to produce the same levels of work on a shoestring budget. I did all sorts of traveling with just a shoestring budget when I was in college. You learn very quickly how to make the most of what you have!
See also: budget, shoestring
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
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Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, during which time he played a major role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Following that, he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. McNamara consolidated intelligence and logistics functions of the Pentagon into two centralized agencies: the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense Supply Agency. Prior to his public service, McNamara was one of the "Whiz Kids" who helped rebuild Ford Motor Company after World War II and briefly served as Ford's President before becoming Secretary of Defense. A group of advisors he brought to the Pentagon inherited the "Whiz Kids" moniker. McNamara remains the longest serving Secretary of Defense, having remained in office over seven years.