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
The Windmills of Your Mind Windmills" which became a hit in the Netherlands, reaching #11 on the Dutch chart in November 1969. and Nr. 4 in the Turkish hit parade in April 1970. The lyrics for the French-language rendering of "The Windmills of Your Mind" were written by Eddy Marnay and this version, entitled "Les Moulins de mon cœur", was first recorded in 1968 by Marcel Amont who was resultantly afforded a minor French chart hit (peak #49). "Les Moulins de mon coeur" has subsequently been recorded by: In 1970 Helena Vondráčková, prior to recording "The Windmills of Your Mind" with its original English lyrics