What does 箸にも棒にもかからない describe?

Question

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?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

“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.