viscousmemories
01-22-2005, 07:44 PM
People use the expression "tilting at windmills" fairly often in the forums I post on, but I didn't get the reference and I didn't even think to investigate it until now. So whenever anyone said it, I pictured a person standing near a windmill, tilting their body toward it. And because that would be really stupid looking, combined with the context in which I usually read that expression, I thought it meant something roughly equivalent to "talking out of your ass".
Yes, I'm really that stupid.
Once I learned where the expression comes from and what it means, I ran into the problem of trying to figure out what such an expression is called*. So I thought I'd use it as a jumping off point for this timely and important thread:
Post some expressions and label them as adage, aphorism, cliche or idiom.
Adage - A saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use.
Aphorism - A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage.
Cliche - A trite or overused expression or idea: “Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use... scholars were giving it increasing attention” (Anthony Brandt).
Idiom - A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
* I decided "tilting at windmills" was an idiom, and dictionary.com confirmed my suspicion:
tilt at windmills - "Engage in conflict with an imagined opponent, pursue a vain goal, as in Trying to reform campaign financing in this legislature is tilting at windmills. This metaphoric expression alludes to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605), who rides with his lance at full tilt (poised to strike) against a row of windmills, which he mistakes for evil giants."
Yes, I'm really that stupid.
Once I learned where the expression comes from and what it means, I ran into the problem of trying to figure out what such an expression is called*. So I thought I'd use it as a jumping off point for this timely and important thread:
Post some expressions and label them as adage, aphorism, cliche or idiom.
Adage - A saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use.
Aphorism - A tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage.
Cliche - A trite or overused expression or idea: “Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use... scholars were giving it increasing attention” (Anthony Brandt).
Idiom - A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
* I decided "tilting at windmills" was an idiom, and dictionary.com confirmed my suspicion:
tilt at windmills - "Engage in conflict with an imagined opponent, pursue a vain goal, as in Trying to reform campaign financing in this legislature is tilting at windmills. This metaphoric expression alludes to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605), who rides with his lance at full tilt (poised to strike) against a row of windmills, which he mistakes for evil giants."