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

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

“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

When the Fed met in December, policymakers thought they could square the circle.

From Reuters • Feb. 22, 2019

Had Michael set them to square the circle or to find a perpetual motion, he would have done his work much better.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I by Smith, David Eugene