if the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion

[peteryoung]

if the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion

I know it's a quip, but what is the figurative sense of this sentence? What is 'laid end to end' like? Does it mean the same thing as 'if they were to stand in a line and form a circle, it would still not be a circle?'. I'm really confused.

Thank you!:)

[Casiopea]

Sounds good.
'conclusion' is synonymous with 'end'.
They would be unable to find a solution.
The circle wouldn't be complete.

[peteryoung]

a million thanks!

[flcracker]

"End to end" would indicate laying them down, one foot touching the next one's head.

You could lay them down "end to end" and make a line from Hong Kong to Bejing, this a "conclusion" as you have a purpose. The statement is most used to demonstrate a quantity, but in this case is irony, in that economist would "never reach a conclusion" no matter what you did with them!

[Steven D]

"End to end" would indicate laying them down, one foot touching the next one's head.

You could lay them down "end to end" and make a line from Hong Kong to Bejing, this a "conclusion" as you have a purpose. The statement is most used to demonstrate a quantity, but in this case is irony, in that economist would "never reach a conclusion" no matter what you did with them!

And the total length would be very long, but the conclusion would always be too far away to reach.