Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall

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🗓️ Idiom: Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall (v)

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💬 Meaning

• To keep trying to achieve something that seems impossible or unchangeable.
• To make repeated efforts that lead to no progress, often in a frustrating situation.

🧠 Example Sentences

• I’ve been trying to get a reply from that lead all week — it feels like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.
• Trying to convince upper management to try a new sales strategy was like banging my head against a brick wall.
• He kept pitching the same product to the wrong market — it was just banging his head against a brick wall.

🏛️ Origin

This vivid expression emphasizes the pointlessness and pain of repeatedly trying something without success. It likely originated in the 20th century and reflects physical frustration used metaphorically for emotional or strategic challenges.

📝 Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:

Trying to change the client’s mind at this point is like __________.

Answer

banging your head against a brick wall

2. Choose the correct meaning of “banging your head against a brick wall”:

A) Achieving success with little effort
B) Getting close to achieving something
C) Making lots of effort with no progress

Answer

C) Making lots of effort with no progress

3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:

“She kept trying to contact the buyer, but nothing worked.” → Change the sentence using: banging your head against a brick wall

Answer

She kept trying to contact the buyer, but it was like banging her head against a brick wall.

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ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

👉 Marketing and Sales Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit

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