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).”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

square the circle

In his speech there was a big clue about how to square the circle of investing in industrial policy at a time of tricky public finances.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

They square the circle of Swift masterminding a full-scale trolling of media and fans while simultaneously hosting a cotton-candy celebrity circus where an awkward wallflower finally, triumphantly blooms.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

Throughout the pandemic era growth has largely exceeded that rate even as inflation has continued to fall, and Powell at his post-meeting press conference on Wednesday tried to square the circle.

From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2023

"Why, all our public schools demand higher mathematics, and in the fourth grade you could not find a child but could square the circle."

From As A Chinaman Saw Us Passages from his Letters to a Friend at Home by Henry Pearson Gratton