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push water uphill. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
push water uphill, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
push water uphill in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
push water uphill you have here. The definition of the word
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push water uphill, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb
push water uphill (third-person singular simple present pushes water uphill, present participle pushing water uphill, simple past and past participle pushed water uphill)
- (idiomatic) try to achieve a goal despite huge resistance, being an uphill battle
1917, Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal - Volume 21, Chilton Company, page 161:A Salesman Unaided by the House is Pushing Water Uphill.
2012, Michael Roe, Marketing Professional Services, Routledge, →ISBN, page 9:Without that commitment you will be pushing water uphill the whole time and will lose your own, necessary motivation.
2013, Zoë C Lloyd, All Patients Great and Small: Tales of a Rural District Nurse, BalboaPress, →ISBN, page 28:Persuading Kenny that measuring his calves did not require removal of his underpants and trousers was akin to pushing water uphill. He claimed that he couldn't tell what I was saying, which seemed strange as he had no problem deciphering the initial message.
2014, Roger Lane-Smith, A Fork in the Road: From Single Partner to Largest Legal Practice in the World, Icon Books, →ISBN:Our relationship with Donovan Leisure was doing well, in truth because Rod Hills and I worked so hard on it, but often it felt like pushing water uphill.
2015, Stephanie Butland, Letters To My Husband, Random House, →ISBN, page 237:And they have another drink, and they try to talk about something else, they really do, but it's like pushing water uphill: it won't work, and it's exhausting.