expression, i-adjective
completely unmanageable; no way to handle
Rare idiomatic expression meaning something is so heavy, burdensome, or troublesome that one cannot even lift or carry it, figuratively implying it is beyond one's ability to deal with. The literal image is 'can neither hold nor carry'.
この問題は持ちも提げもならないほど難しい。
This problem is so difficult that it's completely unmanageable.
A common expression meaning 'unmanageable' or 'out of control', used for situations or people that cannot be handled. 持ちも提げもならない is much rarer and more emphatic, with a literal image of being unable to lift or carry something.
The expression combines the verbs 持つ (to hold) and 提げる (to carry in one's hand) in a negative potential form, literally 'cannot hold nor carry'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely arose as a vivid metaphor for something too burdensome to handle.