Tilt at Windmills.
English
idiom
To fight against imaginary problems or enemies.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To fight against imaginary problems or enemies.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
To fight against imaginary enemies or waste energy on battles that do not exist or cannot be won.
When you tilt at windmills, you are attacking or opposing something that is not a real threat, based on a misunderstanding of the situation.
It comes from Don Quixote and is used for futile, misguided battles.
"Fight a Losing Battle"
—
Persisting in a real struggle that cannot be won, despite the clear odds against you
"Chasing Ghosts"
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Pursuing something that does not exist or that has already passed, wasting time and effort
"Tilt at Windmills"
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Wasting effort fighting imaginary or non-existent problems based on a misunderstanding
I've been spending hours trying to prove this bug is in the third-party library.
I think you're tilting at windmills — the logs suggest it's in our own code.
He keeps protesting against a policy that was already reversed last year.
Classic case of tilting at windmills — he needs to update his information.
I'm going to fight the landlord on this clause — it seems really unfair.
Read the actual law first — you might be tilting at windmills if it's standard practice.
