TILT AT WINDMILLS Definition & Meaning

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tilt at windmills

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Idioms and Phrases

Engage in conflict with an imagined opponent, pursue a vain goal, as in Trying to reform campaign financing in this legislature is tilting at windmills . This metaphoric expression alludes to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605), who rides with his lance at full tilt (poised to strike) against a row of windmills, which he mistakes for evil giants.

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Example Sentences

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Sometimes you have to tilt at windmills.

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But her husband had an explanation, she said: “He goes, ‘We both tilt at windmills.’”

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A potato farmer whose name playfully refers to Don Quixote, he didn’t tilt at windmills but lived in one.

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These behind-the-scenes preparations underscore the reality that while Trump may continue to tilt at windmills, his tenure as the president of the United States is ending.

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Reportedly, he will continue to tilt at windmills into late-April, waging war in Pennsylvania and New York.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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