how long is a piece of string?

US /haʊ lɔŋ ɪz ə piːs əv strɪŋ/
UK /haʊ lɔŋ ɪz ə piːs əv strɪŋ/
"how long is a piece of string?" picture
1.

used to say that it is impossible to give a precise answer to a question, because the answer depends on too many unknown factors

:
When asked how long the project would take, the manager replied, "How long is a piece of string?"
Trying to predict the exact outcome is like asking, "How long is a piece of string?" There are too many variables.