spit in the wind

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To act in a way that is pointless or has no effect

Literally: spitting into the air
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

Trying to change the policy is like spitting in the wind

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “spit in the wind” mean?

To act in a way that is pointless or has no effect Literally: spitting into the air

Is “spit in the wind” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.