square the circle

Idioms  

1. Try to do the impossible, as in Getting that bill through the legislature is the same as trying to square the circle. This idiom alludes to the impossibility of turning a circle into a square. John Donne may have been the first to use it (Sermons, 1624): “Go not thou about to square either circle (God or thyself).”

---

Example Sentences

Is there a way for Mr. Warsh to square the circle?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

“How do you square the circle between needing cash and hiking interest rates to keep the picture from spiraling out of control? In my view, there is no good solution.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2023

It was a financial vehicle to square the circle.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2023

“I had been trying to square the circle of how do I back off this stuff without selling out my colleagues or my friends that make the shows,” Thorn, 41, said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2023

Therefore if we can find the length of the circumference when the diameter is given, we are in possession of all the points needed to enable us to "square the circle."

From The Seven Follies of Science [2nd ed.] A popular account of the most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have been made to solve them. by Phin, John