wrestle with a pig

wrestle with a pig

To attempt a futile task with someone who enjoys the struggle (just as a pig would enjoy wrestling in the mud). I swear, trying to get the truth out of a teenager is like wrestling with a pig! My daughter has an excuse for everything, and I think she enjoys frustrating me!
See also: pig, wrestle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • give somebody/something up as a bad job
  • give (one) up as a bad job
  • give (someone or something) up for lost
  • give somebody/something up for lost
  • give someone up for lost
  • give up for lost
  • like nailing Jell-O to the wall
  • like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall
  • put a rope to the eye of a needle
  • roast snow in a furnace
References in periodicals archive
The former US Marine later said: "When you get down in the mud and wrestle with a pig, the pig loves it - and you get muddy.
General's muck and bullets; Colin Whittock 2007 Review of the year WHITTOCK ON MONEY: SPORT
In a bust-up over admission prices, Krulak taunted Gold: "When you get down in the mud and wrestle with a pig, the pig loves it and you get muddy."
'PIG-SICK' GOLD IN A RUSH FOR REVENGE
Never wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Thoughts for slightly elderly persons in the event of a crisis