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adjective

Quixotic

/kwษชkหˆsษ’tษชk/

Idealistic to the point of being impractical.

Origin

From Don Quixote (1605, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes โ€” the story of an elderly hidalgo who reads too many chivalric romances, decides he is a knight, and rides off to defend the helpless, attacking windmills he believes to be giants.

Modern usage

Used for noble but doomed campaigns โ€” third-party candidates, indie startups against monopolies, lone investigators chasing fading leads.

Tags

idealism
impracticality

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