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

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

“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

There is a room that holds The examiner or his clerks, Where you can square the circle or the man that gives the marks.

From The Ballad of St. Barbara And Other Verses by Chesterton, Gilbert Keith