"like painting the Forth Bridge" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "The bridge across the Firth of Forth was in a continuous state of being painted (until finished in 2011, 122 years after its completion): (owing to its large size) as soon as one end was reached, it was time to begin all over again.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
      },
      "expansion": "like painting the Forth Bridge",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
      },
      "expansion": "like painting the Forth Bridge",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English quotations with omitted translation",
          "parents": [
            "Quotations with omitted translation",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014, Stephanie Owen, J. R. Lewis, Law for the Construction Industry, page viii",
          "text": "Where only an overview has been given, I hope that the book will provide a useful springboard and the appropriate legal advice is sought. The revision has been rather like painting the Forth Bridge and whilst every effort has been made to bring the law as up to date as possible, events often overtake one and a keen eye should be kept on the construction journals and newspapers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 April 29, Alys Fowler, “How to win the war on weeds”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Weeding can feel like painting the Forth Bridge—by the time you finish, it’s time to start again.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Never-ending; said of a task which will never be completed due to the perpetual cycle of having to recommence as soon as one has reached the end, or of efforts that are in vain because of this."
      ],
      "id": "en-like_painting_the_Forth_Bridge-en-prep_phrase--WK9Y-CZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "Never-ending",
          "never-ending"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly UK) Never-ending; said of a task which will never be completed due to the perpetual cycle of having to recommence as soon as one has reached the end, or of efforts that are in vain because of this."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Sisyphean"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Forth Bridge"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "The bridge across the Firth of Forth was in a continuous state of being painted (until finished in 2011, 122 years after its completion): (owing to its large size) as soon as one end was reached, it was time to begin all over again.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
      },
      "expansion": "like painting the Forth Bridge",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
      },
      "expansion": "like painting the Forth Bridge",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English quotations with omitted translation",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014, Stephanie Owen, J. R. Lewis, Law for the Construction Industry, page viii",
          "text": "Where only an overview has been given, I hope that the book will provide a useful springboard and the appropriate legal advice is sought. The revision has been rather like painting the Forth Bridge and whilst every effort has been made to bring the law as up to date as possible, events often overtake one and a keen eye should be kept on the construction journals and newspapers.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 April 29, Alys Fowler, “How to win the war on weeds”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Weeding can feel like painting the Forth Bridge—by the time you finish, it’s time to start again.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Never-ending; said of a task which will never be completed due to the perpetual cycle of having to recommence as soon as one has reached the end, or of efforts that are in vain because of this."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Never-ending",
          "never-ending"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly UK) Never-ending; said of a task which will never be completed due to the perpetual cycle of having to recommence as soon as one has reached the end, or of efforts that are in vain because of this."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Sisyphean"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Forth Bridge"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "like painting the Forth Bridge"
}