seek a knot in a bulrush

English

Alternative forms

• seek knots in a bulrush
• seek knots in bulrushes
• look for a knot in a bulrush

Etymology

Calque of Latin nōdum in scirpō quaerō.

Verb

seek a knot in a bulrush (third-person singular simple present seeks a knot in a bulrush, present participle seeking a knot in a bulrush, simple past and past participle sought a knot in a bulrush)

1. (archaic) To find problems where none exist.
   • 2002, Dr Martin Garrett, Sidney: The Critical Heritage‎^[1], →ISBN, page 138:

     When others, with dirty hands, strive to cleanse these psalms, they seem to seek a knot in a bulrush and (to put the matter in a word) while they polish they pollute.

Translations

to find problems where none exist

• Finnish: keksiä vikoja, saivarrella (fi)
• French: chercher midi à quatorze heures (fr)
• Hungarian: a kákán is csomót keres (hu)
• Romanian: căuta nod în papură