wrestle with a pig

Definitions

To engage in a struggle with an opponent that benefits from the struggle even without winning it.

idiomatic, informal

Examples

“"And when you begin⟳ refuting one another's reasons, fussing back and forth, you generally do what a nationally known industrial relations authority warns you against: you wallow in the mud with the pig. He says, 'Never wallow in the mud with a pig, because the pig likes it.' That is exactly what he wants, because you are on his home ground. He can think⟳ of arguments as well as you can, so where do you come⟳ out?"”

“"'I learned long ago never to wrestle⟳ with a pig,' Ching likes to say⟳, 'You get⟳ dirty and besides the pig likes it.'"”

“1957, Barney Glazer's Column, The Loris Sentinel, Feb 13, p4. "Whenever a boisterous and argumentative person cries to draw⟳ you into a public discussion or a wrangle, just remember⟳ this bit of advice. "Don't wrestle⟳ with a pig. You'll get⟳ dirty which is exactly what the pig likes."”

“"While I was at the Dartmouth Review⟳, we used to tell⟳ the deans that taking on our campus paper was like⟳ wrestling with a pig. Not only did it get⟳ everyone dirty, but the pig liked it!"”

CEFR level