Etymology | Tilting At Windmills | The Simple Things

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Etymology from the land of giants and jousting

The phrase ‘tilting at windmills’ is often said to ‘come from’ Cervantes’ Don Quixote. In fact, the phrase never appears there, but it does refer to the title character’s strange belief that windmills are giants… "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length” that he must fight.

Tilting, for those who are wondering, means ‘jousting with lances’, and the phrase has come to simply meaning ‘fighting an imaginary enemy’.

It was first used in reference to Don Quixote 40 years after the novel was published, in The Character of a London Diurnall in 1644, where John Cleveland wrote "The Quixotes of this Age fight with the Wind-mills of their owne Heads." But the phrase as we know it today is first used in April 1870 in the New York Times, which reported that the Western Republicans “have not thus far had sufficient of an organization behind them to make their opposition to the Committee’s bill anything more than tilting at windmills.”

If you’d like to tilt at a windmill, or perhaps just enjoy a spring walk to a windmill, do read our Outing feature from page 60 of the March issue.

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More outings to enjoy this spring…

Feb 27, 2024 Outing | Visit a Glasshouse Feb 27, 2024 Feb 27, 2024 Jan 20, 2024 Tips | Tidal Treasure-Hunting Jan 20, 2024 Jan 20, 2024 Oct 28, 2023 November | Things to Appreciate Oct 28, 2023 Oct 28, 2023

More from our March issue…

Mar 22, 2022 Birdwatch | Treecreepers Mar 22, 2022 Mar 22, 2022 Mar 19, 2022 Simple Things Tour | Oxford in Books Mar 19, 2022 Mar 19, 2022 Mar 15, 2022 Etymology | Tilting at Windmills Mar 15, 2022 Mar 15, 2022

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The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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