butter on a bald monkey
- idiom
- Informal
:
intento absurdo
- His efforts to explain quantum physics to preschoolers were like butter on a bald monkey.
Examples
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Fixing the leak with duct tape proved to be butter on a bald monkey—completely useless.
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The manager's proposal to boost morale with unpaid overtime was just butter on a bald monkey.
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Don't you think that's just butter on a bald monkey?
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Trying to fix that old car is just butter on a bald monkey.
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His efforts to explain quantum physics to preschoolers were like butter on a bald monkey—a foolish endeavor that would achieve nothing.
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Fixing the leak with duct tape proved to be butter on a bald monkey; it was absolutely pointless.
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The manager's proposal to boost morale with unpaid overtime was just butter on a bald monkey and unlikely to work.
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
butter + on + a + bald + monkey
The literal image of spreading butter on a bald monkey evokes a pointless, messy, or absurd action, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents could plausibly infer a sense of futility or foolishness. However, this is a culture-specific humorous metaphor rather than a regular compositional pattern, so the precise idiomatic nuance may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The expression butter on a bald monkey gives a funny image: spreading butter on a bald monkey, where the butter would slide off and be wasted. That is why it means 'a useless or foolish attempt'.