1.
futile effort; wasted effort; getting no reaction
An idiom describing a situation where one's efforts produce no response or resistance, like pushing against a soft curtain — the action is pointless because there is nothing to push back.
One of Japan's most well-known proverbs. A 暖簾 is the split fabric curtain hung at the entrance of shops and restaurants. Pushing against it produces no resistance — your arm just goes through — making the act pointless. Used when someone is unresponsive or unmoved by your attempts to persuade, argue with, or influence them.
Common collocations
- 暖簾に腕押しだ: it's a wasted effort
- 暖簾に腕押しで終わる: to end in futility
Similar words
- 馬の耳に念仏: preaching to deaf ears — literally 'a Buddhist prayer to a horse's ear,' emphasizing that the listener does not understand or care
- 糠に釘: like nailing into rice bran — another idiom for futile effort, emphasizing that nothing sticks
- 無駄骨を折る: to make a wasted effort — a more direct, non-idiomatic way to express the same idea