Appeal to the stone

Appeal to the stone is an old expression meaning to give up. It comes from a story about a man going to a court to argue his case. He was trying to make a good argument but no matter what he said, the judge refused to change his mind. After trying for a long time, the man got frustrated and said, "Well, I might as well be talking to a stone, since that's all the good it's doing me." This expression means that no matter how much you explain or try to convince someone, if they don't want to listen, it's futile.