spin one's wheels
Meaning: To work hard without making any real progress toward a goal.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Category: The Absurd
Origin: From the image of a car's wheels spinning rapidly against the ground but the vehicle remaining stuck in place.
More idioms — The Absurd
- tenir du miracle — To be exceptional or extraordinary; to have a miraculous quality.
- se mettre la rate au court-bouillon — To worry pointlessly and obsessively over something.
- faire fureur — To provoke great enthusiasm or widespread popularity.
- être victime de son succès — To suffer problems or difficulties that arise as a result of becoming too successful.
- ne pas tourner rond — to be unwell or not functioning properly.
- casser le nez à coups d’encensoir — To offer someone clumsy, exaggerated, and insincere flattery to their face.
More English idioms
- Lord willing and the creek don't rise — Used to express contingency on circumstances beyond one's control, especially minor natur…
- until the cows come home — For an indefinitely long time; forever or seemingly forever.
- land in someone's lap — Something desirable comes to someone without effort or expectation on their part.
- wet one's whistle — To have a drink.
- out of spoons — Exhausted of energy or resources, usually mental or emotional.
- bad apple — A person of bad character whose presence corrupts or damages others or a group.
From our proverbs
- Better it is to meet a bear bereaved of her whelps, than a fool in his folly. — Confronting a dangerous animal is safer than engaging with someone determined to persist…
- As the fool thinks, so the bell chinks. — A fool's actions produce predictable, hollow results—noise without substance or deeper me…
- Fools set stools for wise folk to stumble at. — Foolish people create obstacles that even intelligent ones may trip over through careless…