like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic
Meaning: Doing something pointless while a disaster happens.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Changing the company logo while it loses millions is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Category: The Absurd
Origin: Refers to the liner that sank in 1912: tidying the chairs would not have saved the ship. The phrase became popular in the 1970s, when it was used in American politics.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Un cautère sur une jambe de bois — literally: A cautery on a wooden leg
More idioms — The Absurd
- come down on someone like a ton of bricks — To criticize or punish someone very severely.
- it doesn't take a rocket scientist — Something is easy to understand; no special intelligence is needed.
- a bottomless pit — Something that uses up endless money or effort; also a person who is always hungry.
- blow a gasket — To lose one's temper completely.
- Ariadne's thread — Something that guides one through a complicated problem.
- hey presto — Said when something happens suddenly, as if by magic.
More English idioms
- shoot oneself in the foot — To damage one's own interests through a foolish action.
- make a pass at — To make a sexual or romantic advance toward someone.
- overstep the mark — To go beyond what is acceptable.
- shoot down in flames — To reject or destroy an idea or argument completely.
- set tongues wagging — To cause people to gossip.
- rough around the edges — Lacking polish or refinement, though basically good.
From our untranslatable words
- Hygge — The warm contentment of simple, cozy pleasures shared with people you love — candles, bla…
- Komorebi — The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.