🧱 Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall: And Other Figurative Folly 🤯
Definition: Repeatedly trying to achieve something that seems impossible, or persistently confronting obstacles that you cannot overcome.
Related Terms:
- Running up against a wall: Encountering obstacles that impede progress.
- Blocked at every turn: Meeting resistance or hindrances constantly.
- Spinning your wheels: Making efforts without any gains or progress.
Synonyms:
- Frustrating endeavor
- Unyielding resistance
- Pointless struggle
Antonyms:
- Breeze through
- Gliding smoothly
- Fácil accomplishment
Humor-Filled Quotes:
- “I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall, but I’m just breaking in my thinking cap!” — Gerald Wisecracker
- “If at first you don’t succeed, well, maybe stop banging your head against a brick wall.” — Anonymous wit
Proverbs/Expressions:
- “You can’t get blood from a stone.”
- “Flogging a dead horse.”
In Literature:
- “The Myth of Sisyphus” by Albert Camus: The story symbolizes persistent efforts made fruitlessly.
- “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville: Captain Ahab’s quest against the whale which ends in ironic futility.
In Songs:
- “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles: Deep emotional pleas and continuous attempts against falling short.
In Movies:
- “Groundhog Day” (1993): Living the same day repeatedly could metaphorically represent an ongoing struggle without progress.
### Which of these is a genuine idiom?
- [x] Banging your head against a brick wall
- [ ] Running in spaghetti sauce
- [ ] Humming in chocolate syrup
- [ ] Dancing in a fish tank
> **Explanation:** "Banging your head against a brick wall" is the correct phrase, implying persistent efforts without success. The others are humorous but nonsensical.
### Which phrase means facing constant obstacles?
- [ ] Taking a unicorn for a walk
- [ ] Riding a rainbow wave
- [ ] Whistling in the dark
- [x] Running up against a wall
> **Explanation:** "Running up against a wall" is an idiom meaning facing constant obstacles, unlike the fanciful phrases listed here.
### True or False: 'Trying to get blood from a stone' is an idiom
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** True! It means trying to achieve the impossible. Blood from a stone? No way.
### What does 'spinning your wheels' mean?
- [ ] Learning to ride a bike
- [ ] Dancing around obstacles
- [x] Making efforts with no progress
- [ ] Fixing a punctured tire
> **Explanation:** “Spinning your wheels” means making efforts without progressing, much like an immobile vehicle’s rotating tires.
Since you’ve devoted yourself to the endeavor of scraping through life’s brick walls, may all your future obstacles crumble like cookies. Cheers to overcoming every hurdle and always finding the door when others just see the wall.
~ Ina Literal, 2023
