rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic

English

Alternative forms

move the deckchairs on the Titanic
shift the deckchairs on the Titanic
shuffle the deckchairs on the Titanic

Verb

rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic

(idiomatic) To do something pointless or insignificant that will soon be overtaken by events, or that contributes nothing to the solution of a current problem.
- 1969 January 17, Elizabeth Carpenter (interviewee), Nan Robertson (reporter), “White House Memories Recalled By Mrs. Johnson's Press Aide”, New York Times, page 18
  All the new people want an office close to the President's. You should see them scramble. It's like fighting for a deck chair on the Titanic.
- 1972 May 15, Joseph Eger, “Listening to the Vibes”, New York Times, page 34
  Administrators are running around straightening out deck chairs while the Titanic goes down.
- 1976 May 16, Rogers Morton (interviewee), Washington Post
  I'm not going to rearrange the furniture on the deck of the Titanic.
- 2005 July 24, Business Online
  Gordon Brown's decision to redefine Britain's economic cycle has been damned by one of the City's most influential economic forecasters, which accuses the Chancellor of the Exchequer of doing little more than "moving the deckchairs on the Titanic".
- 2006 April 29, Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Washington, D.C.
  "And then you write, ‘Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.’ First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!"

单词	rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic
释义	rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic English Alternative forms move the deckchairs on the Titanic shift the deckchairs on the Titanic shuffle the deckchairs on the Titanic Verb rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic (idiomatic) To do something pointless or insignificant that will soon be overtaken by events, or that contributes nothing to the solution of a current problem. 1969 January 17, Elizabeth Carpenter (interviewee), Nan Robertson (reporter), “White House Memories Recalled By Mrs. Johnson's Press Aide”, New York Times, page 18 All the new people want an office close to the President's. You should see them scramble. It's like fighting for a deck chair on the Titanic. 1972 May 15, Joseph Eger, “Listening to the Vibes”, New York Times, page 34 Administrators are running around straightening out deck chairs while the Titanic goes down. 1976 May 16, Rogers Morton (interviewee), Washington Post I'm not going to rearrange the furniture on the deck of the Titanic. 2005 July 24, Business Online Gordon Brown's decision to redefine Britain's economic cycle has been damned by one of the City's most influential economic forecasters, which accuses the Chancellor of the Exchequer of doing little more than "moving the deckchairs on the Titanic". 2006 April 29, Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Washington, D.C. "And then you write, ‘Oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.’ First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!"
随便看	assultaremus assultarent assultarentur assultares assultaret assultaretis assultaretur assultari assultas assultat assultata assultatae assultatam assultatarum assultatas assultate assultati assultatis assultato assultator assultatorum assultatos assultatote assultatu assultatum