Someone told me 'not to tilt at windmills'. What does this mean

asked janelh
A. The phrase means don't fight imaginary enemies or grievances.

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Q. Where does it come from
A. It originates in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The eponymous hero of the story charges on his horse at a huge windmill with his lance, believing it to be a giant. The lance becomes lodged in the sail of the windmill and knight and horse are lifted high into the air and then fall to the ground. Both horse and rider are badly hurt.

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Q. What's Don Quixote about
A. It's a huge book. The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, known as Don Quixote Part One, was published in 1604 and The Second Part of the Ingenious Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha in 1615. In short, it's the story of a dignified and gentle knight, who has become so crazed by reading too many books on knight errantry, that he believes himself to be charged with righting all the wrongs of the world. This he attempts to undertake in his many adventures with his faithful servant Sancho Panza and his horse Rosinante. Thus the word 'quixotic' has�been coined to describe someone having foolish and unpractical ideas of honour or schemes for the general good.

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The books were enormously successful in their day and have been translated into at least 60 languages, remaining in print almost continuously ever since. Different generations of readers find different messages in the story. At the time they were published they were seen a savage satire on the chivalric novels that had been so popular in the early 16th century.

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By the end of the 17th century the books were seen as a mock epic in prose, and Cervantes' irony was much admired. The Romantics saw in Don Quixote a tragic hero. Today the knight's tale is still read widely, though with many interpretations. What is not in question, however, is its importance in the development of the modern novel and Cervantes' reputation as the pre-eminent figure of Spanish literature.

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Q. What do we know about Cervantes
A. Quite a lot, particularly in comparison to his contemporary Shakespeare, with whom he is often compared in terms of influence and national importance. Born into an impoverished noble family, by the age of thirty he had been a fugitive, a decorated soldier and spent five years as a captive in the centre of the Muslim world's slave trade in Algiers. Here he made a reputation for himself as a man of considerable integrity and courage, even winning the admiration of his captors. He was eventually ransomed and returned to Spain expecting a hero's welcome. This wasn't to come, however. He spent the rest of his life in a never-ending battle with financial hardship, excommunication, fights with the authorities and other writers and spells in prison.

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He did not receive, until very late in life, the recognition as a writer that he always felt he was due. He worked as a spy, a civil servant (whose job it was to get provisions for the Armada from reluctant peasants) and a tax collector. The last few years of his life were spent writing professionally, a very unusual way to make a living at the time.

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By Simon Smith