pattern

Failure - Wastefulness

Explore English idioms that relate to wastefulness, including "bark at the moon" and "toing and froing".

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English idioms related to Failure
to [cry] over spilled milk

to feel upset or regretful about something that has already happened and cannot be undone

Ex: Stop crying over spilled milk; the deadline has passed. 
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to [cast|throw] pearls before swine

to do good things and waste valuable resources for ungrateful people

Ex: Helping him again would just be casting pearls before swine. 
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to [break] even

(of a business) to reach a point that yields no success due to the profit being almost as equal as the costs

Ex: The café finally broke even after six months. 
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to [chase] {one's} (own|) tail

to try hard yet achieve very little or nothing at all

Ex: I've been chasing my tail all morning and still haven't finished the report. 
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to [save] {one's} breath

to avoid wasting one's time and energy by not trying to persuade or convince someone who is unlikely to change their opinion or behavior

Ex: Save your breath; he won't listen. 
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to [close|shut|lock] the (stable|barn) door after the horse (has bolted|is stolen)

to try to prevent something bad from happening after it has already happened

Ex: Installing cameras after the robbery was like shutting the barn door after the horse had bolted. 
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square one

the point or situation from which one starts to do something

Ex: After the computer crashed, we were back to square one. 
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back to the drawing board

used when one has to return to the beginning of a process and redo the process after one's effort has failed

Ex: The prototype failed, so it's back to the drawing board. 
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from pillar to post

from one place or situation to another without a clear purpose or direction, often in a chaotic or haphazard manner

Ex: The poor customer was sent from pillar to post before anyone helped him. 
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to [paint|gild] the lily

to unnecessarily adorn or decorate something that is already beautiful or perfect

Ex: Adding more flowers to that dress would be painting the lily. 
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to [face|come to|hit] (a|the) (brick|) wall

to reach a point where it is unlikely or too difficult to make any progress

Ex: The research team hit a wall after months of testing. 
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to [bark] at the moon

to take part in a protest that has no chance of reaching success

Ex: Protesting that decision now is just barking at the moon. 
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to [bark] up the wrong tree

to make a wrong decision about how to achieve or deal with something

Ex: If you think I caused the delay, you're barking up the wrong tree. 
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to [beat] a dead horse

to waste energy on a lost cause

Ex: Trying to reopen the case now is just beating a dead horse. 
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to [bring] sand to the beach

to do something that is considered to be redundant or useless

Ex: Adding more chairs to that empty hall is like bringing sand to the beach. 
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to [come|go|turn] full circle

to go through a series of efforts or actions only to end up back where one started, highlighting the lack of progress or meaningful change

Ex: After months of changes, the project came full circle and returned to the original plan. 
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toing and froing

the act of repeatedly talking or thinking about something without reaching a clear conclusion

Ex: After hours of toing and froing, they still hadn't made a decision. 
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like nailing Jell-O to the wall

used to refer to a task that is s very difficult or impossible to do

Ex: Getting a clear answer from him is like nailing Jell-O to the wall. 
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like pouring water (in|into) a sieve

used when someone is doing something that is pointless or ineffective

Ex: Explaining the rules to him is like pouring water into a sieve. 
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like talking to a (brick|) wall

used to describe a frustrating or unproductive conversation with someone who is unresponsive or uninterested

Ex: Trying to explain the problem to him was like talking to a brick wall. 
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(the cake|the game|) [is] not worth the candle

the outcome or reward of a task is not worth the effort or resources required to achieve it

Ex: Fixing that old printer is not worth the candle. 
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to [tread] water

to fail to make any progress in a job or task

Ex: We've been treading water on this project for months. 
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