beat the air

1. Also, beat the wind. Continue to make futile attempts, fight to no purpose. For example, The candidates for office were so much alike that we thought our vote amounted to beating the air. These phrases call up a vivid image of someone flailing away at nothing. [Late 1300s]

Example Sentences

The Pro beat the Air by 10 seconds in the Xcode Benchmark.

From The Verge

Leathery wings beat the air above them.

From Literature

In a more realistic test, the 14-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t beat the Air — those numbers didn’t make it onstage That point is backed up by the fact that Apple’s more realistic wireless web test tells a very different story.

From The Verge

“Helicopters beat the air into submission.”

From Washington Post

Helicopters beat the air, and the buzz of chain saws echoed from the canyons.

From Washington Times