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Glite Dictionary
to throw spaghetti at the wall

to throw spaghetti at the wall

9.3
To try many different ideas to find one that works
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : probar diferentes ideas
  • They're just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing which funds stick.

They're just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing which funds stick.

Examples

  • The marketing team decided to throw spaghetti at the wall by testing various advertisements to see what resonates with customers.

  • In her search for a solution, she threw spaghetti at the wall by trying multiple approaches until one finally worked.

  • Rather than choosing a single strategy, he preferred to throw spaghetti at the wall and evaluate the outcomes of several options.

Synonyms

to see what sticks
vsto throw spaghetti at the wall
  • Informal
2 7.7

To try different ideas to find which ones work

aims to determine success without implying several will work
to throw things at the wall and see what sticks
vsto throw spaghetti at the wall
  • Informal
8.2

Try many different ideas to find one that works

is the same idea but expressed in a different wording
to throw things at the wall
vsto throw spaghetti at the wall
  • Informal
7.3

Try many different ideas to see which one works

tries different methods but does not necessarily imply lack of planning

Antonyms

to stick to
343 3.0

Keep doing something without changing it, for example following a plan

How Experimental

to throw spaghetti at the wall
  • Informal
9.3
experiment
320 2.8

Surface Forms

throw spaghetti at the wall infinitive
threw spaghetti at the wall past
thrown spaghetti at the wall past participle
throwing spaghetti at the wall present participle
throws spaghetti at the wall third person singular

Morphology

throw + spaghetti + at + the + wall

The expression maps a concrete image (throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks) onto the abstract idea of testing multiple options, so there is a discernible metaphorical link between the constituents and the intended meaning. However, understanding requires cultural/pragmatic knowledge (the idea of seeing what "sticks") and a metaphorical inference that a B1 learner who only knows the literal words may not make reliably, so the phrase is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The idiom throw spaghetti at the wall comes from a simple kitchen test: people would throw cooked spaghetti at a wall and see which pieces stick. One popular image says the pieces that stuck were the 'winners', so the phrase means 'to try many ideas to see which ones will work'.