square the circle
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
Top
square the circle
Try to do the impossible, as in Getting that bill through the legislature is the same as trying to square the circle. This idiom alludes to the impossibility of turning a circle into a square. John Donne may have been the first to use it (Sermons, 1624): "Go not thou about to square either circle (God or thyself)."
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Wonder Stuff: Seven Appalling Promos
(Music Film)
square
(Idiom)
squaring the circle
(mathematics)
NWA Pro Wrestling: Copa de Lucha
(2007 Film)
Year 420 bce
(in Science & Technology)
» More