titanic

be like rearranging (the) deckchairs on the Titanic

To be a task, activity, or course of action that will ultimately prove trivial or futile in its possible effect or outcome. You're giving the baby a bath before we eat spaghetti? That's like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.
See also: deckchairs, like, on, rearrange, titanic

move (the) deckchairs on the Titanic

To partake in or undertake some task, activity, or course of action that will ultimately prove trivial or futile in its possible effect or outcome. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. For all his blustering about overhauling the education system, the prime minister might as well have been moving the deckchairs on the Titanic for all the good these proposals will do. You're applying for arts council funding? Why don't you just move deckchairs on the Titanic while you're at it?
See also: deckchairs, move, on, titanic

rearrange (the) deckchairs on the Titanic

To partake in or undertake some task, activity, or course of action that will ultimately prove trivial or futile in its possible effect or outcome. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. For all his blustering about overhauling the education system, the prime minister might as well have been rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic for all the good these proposals will do. You're applying for arts council funding? Why don't you just rearrange deckchairs on the Titanic while you're at it?
See also: deckchairs, on, rearrange, titanic

shift (the) deckchairs on the Titanic

To partake in or undertake some task, activity, or course of action that will ultimately prove trivial or futile in its possible effect or outcome. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. For all his blustering about overhauling the education system, the prime minister might as well have been shifting the deckchairs on the Titanic for all the good these proposals will do. You're applying for arts council funding? Why don't you just shift deckchairs on the Titanic while you're at it?
See also: deckchairs, on, shift, titanic
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

rearrange the ˌdeckchairs on the Tiˈtanic

if something is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, it is an activity that is not worth doing because it cannot improve the situation: None of the staff believe that the new system will improve anything. It’s simply a case of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.This expression refers to the famous ship that sank after hitting an iceberg on its first voyage.
See also: deckchairs, on, rearrange, titanic
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

go Titanic

in. to fail; to sink. (Refers to the sinking of the passenger ship Titanic.) The whole project went Titanic. We’re out of a job.
See also: go, titanic
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • be like rearranging (the) deckchairs on the Titanic
  • deckchairs
  • move (the) deckchairs on the Titanic
  • rearrange (the) deckchairs on the Titanic
  • rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic
  • shift (the) deckchairs on the Titanic
  • run in circles
  • balls around
  • be running around in circles
  • be no mean...
References in periodicals archive
This Titanic Quarter site will be its first investment in Northern Ireland.
Family hotel set to dock
Based in the former headquarters of Harland & Wolff - the builders of RMS Titanic - the hotel exudes class and comfort, making us feel at home as soon as we arrived.
Belfast and CURIOUS... NEED TO KNOW; ELLE MAY RICE heads to Northern Ireland for a short break full of history, culture and Game of Thrones
The sinking Titanic brought about an international revolution in safety regulations.
Past in Perspective
According to Lonely Planet , the Titanic II will kick off its journey from Dubai and dock at Southampton in the UK in 2022.
Famous ship Titanic to set sail from Dubai in 2022
Australian firm Blue Star Line is creating the Titanic II that will be modeled on the original.
Titanic replica set to dock in Dubai
It took Birgisson 11 months or around 700 hours to build this Titanic replica, with help from his grandfather Ludvik Baldur Ogmundsson.
Titanic Lego replica built by autistic boy gets displayed in museum
"Stunned by the volume of plastic bottles that were found in the pond, which can take around 1,000 years to decompose, the team at Titanic Spa decided to activate its no-plastic initiative with immediate effect.
Spa swaps plastic for paper to become more eco-friendly
The theory is that the owners of the line were put in a financial jeopardy when this happened having no money to conduct extensive repairs, losing revenue from repairs as well as from having to put off Titanic's maiden voyage.
4 conspiracy theories about the doom of the Titanic
Once you've finished "Titanic II" but haven't yet had your fill of the story of the sinking ship, then keep sitting on that couch and try one of these other movies or mini-series about the "Titanic."
Did You Know There's A 'Titanic' Sequel?
Howard Nelson devoted his life to the doomed liner and was in the process of trying to install a memorial to the Titanic's eight bellboys when he died on May 17.
Titanic expert Howard dies, 69
The Titanic's consumer appeal is partly explained by the myths it embodies - the myth of nature trumping technology, the almost Biblical lesson that great riches are worthless in life-or-death situations, and the accumulating layers of myth that have been added to the awful event by its representations in popular culture.
Why brands like Titanic stay like struck records in consumer's minds
Titanic artist James Lumbers' painting depicts an old man sitting on his porch having lunch.
Titanic Artist James Lumbers New Release - Titanic Departure Collector Giclee Prints Now Available
Koldau (musicology, Aarhus University, Denmark) explores how the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 has been turned into a myth through various film versions, from a 1943 Nazi propaganda film to James Cameron's 1997 film.
The Titanic on film; myth versus truth
CIE Tours Includes Titanic Museum in Classic Ireland Tour CIE Tours International made the new Titanic Belfast Experience part of its popular Irish Classic Tour and 11 other motorcoach tours.
Inside Air Travel
In 1912, the Titanic sailed into history as one of the world's deadliest peacetime maritime disasters.
Tribute to the titanic: explore shipbuilding history at a gleaming new museum