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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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [cry] over spilled milk\"
to cast pearls before swine

to do good things and waste valuable resources for ungrateful people

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [cast|throw] pearls before swine\"
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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [break] even\"
to chase one's (own) tail

to try hard yet achieve very little or nothing at all

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [chase] {one's} (own|) tail\"
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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [save] {one's} breath\"
to close the stable door after the horse has bolted

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [close|shut|lock] the (stable|barn) door after the horse (has bolted|is stolen)\"
square one

the point or situation from which one starts to do something

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Definition & Meaning of \"square one\"
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

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Definition & Meaning of \"back to the drawing board\"
from pillar to post

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"from pillar to post\"
to paint the lily

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [paint|gild] the lily\"
to face a (brick) wall

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [face|come to|hit] (a|the) (brick|) wall\"
to bark at the moon

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [bark] at the moon\"
to bark up the wrong tree

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [bark] up the wrong tree\"
to beat a dead horse

to waste one's time and energy for something that has no chance of achieving success or yeilds no profit

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [beat] a dead horse\"
to bring sand to the beach

to do something that is considered to be redundant or useless

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [bring] sand to the beach\"
to come 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

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [come|go|turn] full circle\"
toing and froing

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"toing and froing\"
like nailing Jell-O to the wall

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"like nailing Jell-O to the wall\"
like pouring water in a sieve

used when someone is doing something that is pointless or ineffective

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Definition & Meaning of \"like pouring water (in|into) a sieve\"
like talking to a (brick) wall

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"like talking to a (brick|) wall\"
the cake is not worth the candle

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

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Definition & Meaning of \"the (cake|game) [is] not worth the candle\"
to tread water

to fail to make any progress in a job or task

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [tread] water\"
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