See count angels on pinheads in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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"examples": [
{
"ref": "1962, Flinders University of South Australia & the University of Adelaide Deptartment of Economics, Australian Economic Papers, page 12:",
"text": "…secondly, because it is thought to be wholly destructive, and “something has to be taught” — which is the equivalent of teaching people to count angels on pinheads when you no longer believe in the heavenly host and, thirdly, because it has seemed to be socialist in tone, direction and intention.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "Date unknown: United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Hearings, p1315",
"text": "It adds to the trend that law schools and law journals are no longer content to count angels on pinheads."
},
{
"ref": "1995, Henry David Thoreau, Walter Roy Harding, Walden: an annotated edition, page 1:",
"text": "It is not concerned with theological disputation; he does not count angels on pinheads.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1951, The John Dewey Society, the Philosophy of Education Society (U.S.), and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign College of Education, Educational Theory, p185",
"text": "In requesting that a closer look be given to hypothetical thinking and its role in the solving of problems, I do not suggest that counting angels on pinheads is a fruitful educational exercise. Thinking about the actual is one aspect of analytical thinking."
},
{
"ref": "1999, Carol J. Dempsey, Russell A. Butkus, All Creation is Groaning: An Interdisciplinary Vision for Life in a Sacred Universe, page VIII:",
"text": "Connectedness is a requirement for higher education if our academic work is not to be merely the technological equivalent of counting angels on pinheads.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2006, Norman D. Cook, Models of the Atomic Nucleus: With Interactive Software, page 118:",
"text": "Such assertions are motivated by the desire to leave the independent-particle model in place as the central paradigm in nuclear theory, but they inadvertently push theoretical nuclear physics in the direction of counting angels on pinheads: “Sure they’re there! It’s just that there aren’t any observable implications of their celestial presence!”",
"type": "quote"
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],
"glosses": [
"To focus on getting correct details which are largely irrelevant."
],
"id": "en-count_angels_on_pinheads-en-verb-GMrFrXrH",
"related": [
{
"word": "angels dancing on the head of a pin"
},
{
"word": "rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic"
},
{
"word": "fiddle while Rome burns"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir sobre el sexe dels àngels"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "laskea neulan kärjellä tanssivia enkeleitä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discuter du sexe des anges"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutere del sesso degli angeli"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "przegapiać sedno"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir o sexo dos anjos"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "debater o sexo dos anjos"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir sobre el sexo de los ángeles"
}
]
}
],
"word": "count angels on pinheads"
}
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{
"ref": "1962, Flinders University of South Australia & the University of Adelaide Deptartment of Economics, Australian Economic Papers, page 12:",
"text": "…secondly, because it is thought to be wholly destructive, and “something has to be taught” — which is the equivalent of teaching people to count angels on pinheads when you no longer believe in the heavenly host and, thirdly, because it has seemed to be socialist in tone, direction and intention.",
"type": "quote"
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{
"ref": "Date unknown: United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Hearings, p1315",
"text": "It adds to the trend that law schools and law journals are no longer content to count angels on pinheads."
},
{
"ref": "1995, Henry David Thoreau, Walter Roy Harding, Walden: an annotated edition, page 1:",
"text": "It is not concerned with theological disputation; he does not count angels on pinheads.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1951, The John Dewey Society, the Philosophy of Education Society (U.S.), and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign College of Education, Educational Theory, p185",
"text": "In requesting that a closer look be given to hypothetical thinking and its role in the solving of problems, I do not suggest that counting angels on pinheads is a fruitful educational exercise. Thinking about the actual is one aspect of analytical thinking."
},
{
"ref": "1999, Carol J. Dempsey, Russell A. Butkus, All Creation is Groaning: An Interdisciplinary Vision for Life in a Sacred Universe, page VIII:",
"text": "Connectedness is a requirement for higher education if our academic work is not to be merely the technological equivalent of counting angels on pinheads.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2006, Norman D. Cook, Models of the Atomic Nucleus: With Interactive Software, page 118:",
"text": "Such assertions are motivated by the desire to leave the independent-particle model in place as the central paradigm in nuclear theory, but they inadvertently push theoretical nuclear physics in the direction of counting angels on pinheads: “Sure they’re there! It’s just that there aren’t any observable implications of their celestial presence!”",
"type": "quote"
}
],
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"To focus on getting correct details which are largely irrelevant."
]
}
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{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir sobre el sexe dels àngels"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "laskea neulan kärjellä tanssivia enkeleitä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discuter du sexe des anges"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutere del sesso degli angeli"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "przegapiać sedno"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir o sexo dos anjos"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "debater o sexo dos anjos"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to spend time on fruitless intellectual matters",
"word": "discutir sobre el sexo de los ángeles"
}
],
"word": "count angels on pinheads"
}
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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