throw one's cap over the windmill

English

Etymology

From a passage in the novel Don Quixote in which the titular character throws his cap over a windmill that he has mistaken for a giant, as a challenge.

Pronunciation

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Verb

throw one's cap over the windmill (third-person singular simple present throws one's cap over the windmill, present participle throwing one's cap over the windmill, simple past threw one's cap over the windmill, past participle thrown one's cap over the windmill)

1. (idiomatic) To act in a bizarre or eccentric manner.

Derived terms

• cap over the windmill

Related terms

• tilt at windmills