I think I understand when you would use 箸にも棒にもかからない, referring to someone who
is hopeless - but what situation does the phrase describe?  
Is there a story behind it? What is happening with chopsticks and sticks?
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2016-02-24T20:43:01.993
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question
meaning phrases
What does 箸にも棒にもかからない describe?
According to this site... <http://kotowaza.avaloky.com/pv_hob26_01.html>

Suppose you're trying to pick something up by hooking it up. You tried a short
chopstick. You tried a long stick. But no avail, it can't be caught with them
- it just doesn't seem to work!

This is the story behind this phrase. It depicts the outcome that is so bad
that it can be of no use.
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2016-02-25T00:16:15.760
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“箸にも棒にもかからない” literally meaning "can't be caught with chopsticks nor long
sticks" is a popular Japanese idiom to describe an uncontrollable person,
thing, or issue. We say “彼は箸にも棒にもかからない奴だ（人間だ),” meaning “He is totally
untreatable (uncontrollably cunning, untrustful).

You can catch a small thing like a bean with your chopsticks. You can hold a
big thing by using two long sticks. If you are not able to pinch, catch or
hold a thing with either chopsticks or long sticks, it must be a thing
difficult for you to handle, or the thing deadly out of your control. So it’s
箸にも棒にもかからない奴 (物、問題) – a person, object, thing, or issue which is out of your
control, in other word, useless, hopeless, and mysterious.
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2016-02-27T07:15:01.207
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answer