Fare un buco nell’acqua
To make a hole in the water
This idiom means to attempt something that ends up being futile or unsuccessful. The imagery suggests the impossibility and pointlessness of making a hole in water, as water simply fills back in immediately, erasing any trace of the attempt.
Esempi
- “Nonostante tutti gli sforzi, il progetto รจ stato un fallimento totale. Abbiamo solo fatto un buco nell’acqua.” – Despite all efforts, the project was a complete failure. We just made a hole in the water.
- “Pensava di risolvere il problema con quel metodo, ma ha solo fatto un buco nell’acqua.” – He thought he could solve the problem with that method, but he just made a hole in the water.
- “Tutti i tentativi di convincerlo sono stati inutili, abbiamo fatto un buco nell’acqua.” – All attempts to convince him were futile, we made a hole in the water.