what is boil the ocean 
 boil the ocean is an idiomatic phrase that means to undertake an impossible task or project or to make a job or project unnecessarily difficult the phrase appears in business and among startup companies as well as in other group settings and is considered to be a negative phrase in relation to how one approaches a task understanding boiling the ocean in the literal sense boiling the ocean is impossible because there s too much water for boiling it to be feasible boiling the actual ocean would be an impossible task when applied to groups or projects the phrase can simply mean making something so complicated that the goal becomes impossible the phrase boil the ocean has the additional connotation of going overboard or delving into such minute detail that a project becomes impossible it also is sometimes heard as a derisory comment on a written or verbal report that is filled with unnecessary detail insider jargon or pompous language as with many phrases of this type its origins are somewhat mysterious various sources point to will rogers mark twain and lewis carroll as the originators of the phrase however no direct attribution has been identified 