Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink

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Lines from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The speaker, a sailor on a becalmed ship, is surrounded by salt water that he cannot drink.

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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notes for Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink

By extension, these lines are used to describe a situation in which someone is in the midst of plenty but cannot partake of it.

Words nearby Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink

Watervliet, water vole, water wagon, water wagtail, waterward, Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink, water wave, waterway, waterweed, waterwheel, water willow

How to use Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink in a sentence

Fluoride first entered an American water supply through a rather inelegant technocratic scheme.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
When cities started adding chlorine to their water supplies, in the early 1900s, it set off public outcry.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Before anti-vaxxers, there were anti-fluoriders: a group who spread fear about the anti-tooth decay agent added to drinking water.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Placed in drinking water, fluoride can serve people who otherwise have poor access to dental care.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST

In secret, before the referendum, the council went ahead and fluoridated the water anyway.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Urbanity ushers in water that needs no apology, and gives a zest to the worst vintage.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Before he could finish the sentence the Hole-keeper said snappishly, "Well, drop out again—quick!"
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
The two women had no intention of bathing; they had just strolled down to the beach for a walk and to be alone and near the water.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Mrs. Woodbury paints in oils and water-colors; the latter are genre scenes, and among them are several Dutch subjects.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement