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.

---

Example Sentences

Driven by Ma's force of personality, Alibaba was able to tilt at windmills, said Duncan Clark, managing director of Beijing-based tech advisory BDA and a former consultant for Alibaba.

From Reuters • Jun. 8, 2014

Cumani is simply not the sort of trainer to tilt at windmills.

From The Guardian • Jul. 7, 2011

But you also lose a bit of the edge that leads you to tilt at windmills.

From Time • Mar. 4, 2010

Unlike his ancestor, the monsignor does not tilt at windmills, but joyrides on them, producing some superlative nonsense.

From Time Magazine Archive

"We are the only people who tilt at windmills these days—we and our cousins, the British, who taught us."

From In Search of the Unknown by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)