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 Grump (fictional character) municipal councils, because they have decided that people of his age are exempt from the upcoming reform concerning sewage in the countryside. “You people in politics and in our municipal administration, are you so stupid that you think that everyone over 68 years of age is lacking of means?” He does not necessarily reject modern introductions to Finnish life, such as mobile phones, pizza or Thai brides, but views them through his own practical (if antiquated) mindset. The Grump (fictional character) The Grump ( ‘a person who always gets upset’) is a fictional character created by the Finnish author Tuomas