tilt at windmills

Idioms  

1. Engage in conflict with an imagined opponent, pursue a vain goal, as in Trying to reform campaign financing in this legislature is tilting at windmills. This metaphoric expression alludes to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes'Don Quixote (1605), who rides with his lance at full tilt (poised to strike) against a row of windmills, which he mistakes for evil giants.

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Example Sentences

Sometimes you have to tilt at windmills.

From Washington Post

But her husband had an explanation, she said: “He goes, ‘We both tilt at windmills.’”

From New York Times

A potato farmer whose name playfully refers to Don Quixote, he didn’t tilt at windmills but lived in one.

From New York Times

Reportedly, he will continue to tilt at windmills into late-April, waging war in Pennsylvania and New York.

From The Guardian

“There’s nothing we can do if they want to be irrational and tilt at windmills and imagine conspiracies to punish China when they’re down,” said Tim Morrison, who served on Trump’s National Security Council before resigning in October.

From Washington Post