Beat one’s head against the wall
Also, bang or run one’s head against or into a brick wall. Waste one’s time in a hopeless enterprise, as in I have tried many times to convince him to stop smoking, but I’m beating my head against a brick wall. The metaphoric phrase alludes to a physical expression of frustration. [ Late 1500s ]
Also see: beat the air
Read Also:
- Beat one's meat
beat one’s meat verb phrase (Variations: flog or pound may replace beat; dummy or log may replace meat) To masturbate (1960s+)
- Beat one's way
beat one’s way verb phrase To travel without paying; travel in the cheapest possible way (1870s+)
- Beat out
to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly. to dash against: rain beating the trees. to flutter, flap, or rotate in or against: beating the air with its wings. to sound, as on a drum: beating a steady rhythm; to beat a tattoo. to stir vigorously: Beat the egg whites well. to break, forge, or make […]
- Beat poets
numerous U.S. poets concentrated in California in the 1950s and noted chiefly for their rejection of poetic as well as social conventions, exemplified through experimental, often informal phrasing and diction and formless verse that attempts to capture spontaneity of thought and feeling.
- Rap
to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow: He rapped the door with his cane. to utter sharply or vigorously: to rap out a command. (of a spirit summoned by a medium) to communicate (a message) by raps (often followed by out). Slang. to criticize sharply: Critics could hardly wait to rap the […]