يضرب في حديد بارد (yadrib fi hadid barid)
Meaning: To waste effort on a hopeless task.
Language: Arabic
Literally: To strike cold iron
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Hammering cold, unworkable iron that will never bend pictures utterly futile labour.
More idioms — Daily Life
- از این ستون به آن ستون فرج است (az in sotun be ān sotun faraj ast) — Even a small change may bring hope.
- יצא מכליו (Yatsa miklav) — To lose your temper; to be beside yourself.
- Fer dissabte — To give the house a big clean-up.
- Anar de bòlit — To be rushed off your feet.
- Å være på pinebenken — To be in anxious suspense.
- At score kassen — To make a big, easy profit.
More Arabic idioms
- القرد بعين أمه غزال (al-qird bi-ʿayn ummihi ghazāl) — Parents see their children as beautiful no matter what.
- اللي ما يعرف الصقر يشويه (illi ma yaʿrif al-ṣaqr yishwīh) — Failing to recognize something valuable and destroying it.
- على قد لحافك مد رجليك (ʿalā qadd liḥāfik midd rijlayk) — Live within your means.
- رمى بنفسه في التهلكة (ramā bi-nafsihi fī at-tahluka) — Someone deliberately puts themselves in danger or a hopeless situation through recklessne…
- أكل العيش والملح مع شخص (Akal al-'aysh wal-milh ma'a shakhs) — Shared intimate bond or deep friendship forged through shared hardship and simple living…
- حط في بطنك بطيخة صيفي (ḥuṭṭ fī baṭnak baṭīkha ṣayfī) — Relax completely; do not worry about a thing.
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