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square the circle

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square the circle

to solve an unusually difficult problem To get both sides to agree to anything at all meant we had to square the circle.

Related vocabulary: have it both ways

Etymology: from the problem in geometry (a branch of mathematics) of constructing a square that is equal in area to a circle

See also: circle, square

square the circle

to find a good solution to a problem when that seems impossible, especially because the people involved have very different needs or opinions about it Few poor countries can afford to look after their works of art properly, but neglect is unwise if you want to attract tourists. Thailand is attempting to square the circle.

See also: circle, square

square the circle

Try to do the impossible, as in Getting that bill through the legislature is the same as trying to square the circle. This idiom alludes to the impossibility of turning a circle into a square. John Donne may have been the first to use it ( Sermons, 1624): "Go not thou about to square either circle (God or thyself)."

See also: circle, square