Tilting at windmills Tilting at windmills Tilting at windmills is an English idiom that means attacking imaginary enemies. The expression is derived from the 1605 novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, and the word "tilt" in this context comes from jousting. The phrase is sometimes used to describe either confrontations where adversaries are incorrectly perceived, or courses of action that are based on misinterpreted or misapplied heroic, romantic, or idealistic justifications. It may also connote an importune, unfounded, and vain effort against adversaries real or imagined for a vain goal. The phrase comes from an episode in the Cervantes novel wherein protagonist
Windmills in Jersey Windmills in Jersey Jersey has had a number of windmills over the centuries. They were mostly corn mills, and about half of those built survive in one form or another. "Bel Royal" windmill was painted by Isabella Struthers in 1884. The owner in 1886 was a Mr Gosset, who lost the mill due to a bank failure. The new owner demolished the mill and built a terrace of houses in its place. The existence of a windmill at Elizabeth Castle is indicated by the demolition of Windmill Rock, an outcrop in the unfortified Green. Between the construction of the Lower