tilt at windmills
English
Alternative forms
- fight windmills
Etymology
From a passage in the novel Don Quixote where the eponymous character tilts (i.e. jousts) at windmills that he has mistaken for giants.
Verb
- (intransitive) To attack imaginary enemies.
- (intransitive, by extension) To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity.
Synonyms
- (go on a wild-goose chase): chase a rainbow
Related terms
- throw one's cap over the windmill
- mistake windmills for giants
Translations
attack imaginary enemies
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
|
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.