#470.  Possibility. —­ N. possibility, potentiality; what may be, what
is possible &c. adj.; compatibility &c. (agreement) 23.
     practicability, feasibility; practicableness &c. adj.
contingency, chance &c. 156. 
     V. be possible &c. adj.; stand a chance; admit of, bear.
     render possible &c. adj.; put in the way of. 
     Adj. possible; in the cards, on the dice; in posse, within the bounds
of possibility, conceivable, credible; compatible &c. 23; likely.
     practicable, feasible, performable, achievable; within reach, within
measurable distance; accessible, superable[obs3], surmountable; attainable, obtainable; contingent &c. (doubtful) 475, (effect) 154.
     barely possible, marginally possible, just possible; possible but
improbably, (improbable) 473; theoretically possible. 
     Adv. possibly, by possibility; perhaps, perchance, peradventure;
maybe, may be, haply, mayhap.
     if possible, wind and weather permitting, God willing, Deo
volente[Lat], D. V.; as luck may have it. 
     Phr. misericordia Domini inter pontem et fontent[Lat]; “the glories
of the Possible are ours” [B.  Taylor]; anything is possible; in theory possible, but in practise unlikely.

—­ p. 135 —­

     #471.  Impossibility. —­ N. impossibility &c. adj.; what cannot, what
can never be; sour grapes; hopelessness &c. 859. 
     V. be impossible &c. adj.; have no chance whatever.
     attempt impossibilities; square the circle, wash a blackamoor white;
skin a flint; make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, make bricks without straw; have nothing to go upon; weave a rope of sand, build castles in the air, prendre la lune avec les dents[Fr], extract sunbeams from cucumbers, set the Thames on fire, milk a he-goat into a sieve, catch a weasel asleep, rompre l’anguille au genou[Fr], be in two places at once. 
     Adj. impossible; not possible &c. 470; absurd, contrary to reason;
unlikely; unreasonable &c. 477; incredible &c. 485; beyond the bounds of reason, beyond the bounds of possibility, beyond the realm of possibility; from which reason recoils; visionary; inconceivable &c. (improbable) 473; prodigious &c. (wonderful) 870; unimaginable, inimaginable[obs3]; unthinkable.
     impracticable unachievable; unfeasible, infeasible; insuperable;
unsurmountable[obs3], insurmountable; unattainable, unobtainable; out of reach, out of the question; not to be had, not to be thought of; beyond control; desperate &c. (hopeless) 859; incompatible &c. 24; inaccessible, uncomeatable[obs3], impassable, impervious, innavigable[obs3], inextricable; self-contradictory.
     out of one’s power, beyond one’s power, beyond one’s depth, beyond
one’s reach, beyond one’s grasp; too much for; ultra crepidam[Lat]. 
     Phr. the grapes are sour; non possumus[Lat]; non nostrum tantas
componere lites [Lat][Vergil]; look for a needle in a haystack, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin [obs3][Fr.]; il a le mer  boire[obs3].