slåss mot väderkvarnar
Meaning: To engage in a futile struggle against imaginary or trivial enemies.
Language: Swedish
Literally: to fight against windmills
Category: The Absurd
Origin: From Cervantes' Don Quixote, where the deluded knight attacks windmills, mistaking them for giants—the quintessential image of tilting at phantoms.
More idioms — The Absurd
- błędne koło — A logical fallacy or impossible situation in which the solution requires solving the prob…
- nic a nic — Not at all; not in the slightest.
- pi razy oko — A rough, approximate measure with little precision; give or take.
- robić dobrą minę do złej gry — To grin and bear it; to pretend a bad situation is acceptable.
- wziąć z sufitu — To invent something without basis; to make something up or fabricate it.
- в долгах как в шелках (v dolgakh kak v shelkakh) — To be deeply and hopelessly in debt.
More Swedish idioms
- ha is i magen — To remain calm and composed under pressure, resisting the urge to act rashly.
- bära eller brista — To succeed or fail; to endure the test or collapse under it.
- mitt på ljusan dag — In broad daylight; openly and obviously, not in secret.
- Att glida in på en räkmacka — To have things handed to you without effort.
- Att ha rent mjöl i påsen — To have a clean conscience; nothing to hide.
- att köpa grisen i säcken — To make a purchase or agreement without inspecting or understanding what you're actually…