spin one's wheels
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Expend effort with no result, as in We're just spinning our wheels here while management tries to make up its mind. This idiom, with its image of a vehicle in snow or sand that spins its wheels but cannot move, dates from the mid-1900s.
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THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
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Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Words nearby spin one's wheels
spinobulbar, spinocerebellum, spinode, spin-off, Spinone Italiano, spin one's wheels, spinor, spinose, spinothalamic tract, spinous, spinous layer
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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