tilt at windmills
To attack imaginary enemies.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Stop tilting at windmills and focus on real problems.”
“She is tilting at windmills by blaming the old manager for her own mistakes.”
“Do not tilt at windmills by fighting rules that everyone else follows.”
“He spends his entire day arguing with internet strangers, essentially tilting at windmills while his actual work remains unfinished.”
“You are just tilting at windmills by complaining about the weather when we have a deadline to meet today.”
“The lawyer realized he was tilting at windmills when he tried to sue a company that no longer exists.”
“The aging politician continued to tilt at windmills, railing against long-forgotten policies that no longer posed any threat to the modern state.”
Derived from a passage in the novel Don Quixote, in which the eponymous character tilts, or jousts, at windmills that he has mistaken for giants. The image of the deluded knight-errant charging a series of grain mills under the impression that he is engaged in a heroic struggle against supernatural adversaries provides the source for the expression.
- 01
cap over the windmill
In a bizarre or eccentric manner.
- 02
full tilt
As quickly as possible; very rapidly.
- 03
full tilt boogie
At the most extreme level; at full capacity.
- 04
mistake windmills for giants
To perceive ordinary, nonthreatening objects or situations as significant dangers or adversaries, often due to an overly romantic, idealistic, or deluded worldview.
- 05
throw one's cap over the windmill
To act in a bizarre, eccentric or immoral manner.
Last updated August 10, 2026