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

tilt at windmills

1. (intransitive) To attack imaginary enemies.
2. (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

• Finnish: taistella tuulimyllyjä vastaan
• Hebrew: נלחם בטחנות רוח (he)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: slåss mot vindmøller (no), kjempe mot vindmøller

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: lluïtar contra molins de vent
• German: gegen Windmühlen kämpfen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: dul i ngleic le samhailtí
• Welsh: ymladd â melinau gwynt