can't fight City Hall

(you) can't fight city hall

You cannot defeat or prevail over a bureaucratic system or its rules. You might as well pay those parking tickets now because you'll never win in court. You can't fight city hall, after all.
See also: city, fight, hall
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

(You) can't fight city hall.

Fig. There is no way to win in a battle against a bureaucracy. Bill: I guess I'll go ahead and pay the tax bill. Bob: Might as well. You can't fight city hall. Mary: How did things go at your meeting with the zoning board? Sally: I gave up. Can't fight city hall.
See also: city, fight, hall
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

can't fight City Hall

Unable to overcome bureaucratic rules, as in Brad couldn't get a permit without going through channels-you can't fight City Hall! This term transfers the seat of city government to a more general sense of bureaucracy in any sphere. [Mid-1800s]
See also: city, fight, hall
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

can't fight City Hall, one/you/they

An ordinary person cannot overcome bureaucracy. The term is American in origin, for it is mainly in the United States that the seat of a city government is called City Hall (and has been since the late seventeenth century). The idea of combating the city bureaucracy is believed to date from the nineteenth century, when Tammany Hall was a powerful political machine that controlled the New York Democratic Party and, in effect, the city government.
See also: city, fight, one
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • (you) can't fight city hall
  • hall
  • You can’t fight city hall
  • you can't fight City Hall
  • go fight city hall
  • city
  • win out
  • make (one) pay through the nose
  • win out over (someone or something)
  • red tape
References in periodicals archive
''You can't fight city hall'' or so goes the old saw -- that is, of course, if you are not the president of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
Sydney questions veto power over Olympic organizers
As I said right off the bat, sometimes you just can't fight city hall or the Band Office.
On being dispossessed, and planning a move
It used to be said that you can't fight City Hall. That remains true on matters of licensing and laws.
Americans hard-wired for sprawl
In this case you can't fight city hall or the FDA and the repercussions are more severe than a simple red card.
You can't fight City Hall
People say you can't fight City Hall. But after spending five years urging the Los Angeles City Council to pass gun-control legislation, we have learned it's worth a try.
'We didn't plan to be gun-control activists'
"School newspapers since Hazelwood have probably assumed that they can't fight city hall, that school districts have almost unfettered license to censor them," says Ken Myers, the students' lawyer.
The case they've waited for? (High School Journalism)
Don't tell James Winters you can't fight City Hall. The CEO of United Energy Inc.
Winters' storm
11259), and as the saying goes, 'You can't fight City Hall.'
What's the plan for Palawan?
-- You can't fight city hall, but in Austin, Tex., you can bring a licensed gun into the building.
Politics and torts don't mix, judge told
Who says you can't fight City Hall? The holding in Doe v.
Right to jury trial in ELCRA claims against the state
I hate to say it, but the old adage You can't fight city hall' apparently is right, said the church's attorney, Bernie Rhodes of Lathrop Gage.
Kansas City church loses zoning fight involving digital sign
You can't fight city hall, so aviation maintainers have to get creative in order to keep airplanes flying.
Coping mechanisms for D.C. dysfunction
As Nik Wallenda's spectacular high wire act over the mighty Cataracts recedes from memory, and Wallenda himself has forsaken Niagara Falls for the crowds at Darien Lake (after coming to the realization that you can't fight City Hall), it seems as though everyone and his brother is seeking to credit themselves with playing some pivotal role in the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Wallenda walk: Maziarz got it done but was helped by others
"If the trial court's erroneous decision is left standing, it will give new and unwelcome meaning to the phrase, 'You can't fight City Hall,'" Olson said in his appeal.
Fighting the good fight: ruling against small-town publisher carries broad ramifications for freedom of the press