4

I have found "Whistling into the wind" online but I do not think it fits because it seems to mean that your words are not heard, whereas the opposite should mean that you're being informed by someone of a 'fact' with which you strongly disagree.

I generally respond, "you're preaching to the choir", when somebody 'vents' to me about something that I too take some issue with, which may be an evolution of the idiom used when you tell someone something they already know, rather than something they agree with.

Improve this question
8
  • 1
    Banging your head against a wall is one opposite.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 21:08
  • 2
    My first thought is "Preaching to the wrong choir". I feel like I've heard that before, at least.
    – Stephen S
    Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 21:15
  • If you're preaching to the choir, it means that you simply expressing what everyone already agrees upon. Whereas the opposite, IMO, would be if you were preaching to people who were completely apathetic and indifferent, so whistling or spitting in the wind fits quite well.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 21:59
  • But the opposite of agreeing upon something is not being indifferent, it's disagreeing, and that's why I don't think that suggestion works well.
    – JuJoDi
    Commented Dec 7, 2013 at 6:11
  • Choiring to the preacher?
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Dec 7, 2014 at 11:47

14 Answers 14

Reset to default
13

I think casting pearls before swine is a good opposite. It means giving advice, guidance or direction to those incapable of appreciating or acting upon it.

Improve this answer
6

I say "You're banging your head against a brick wall" or "You're wasting your breath".

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    "banging your head against a brick wall" doesn't actually imply that the other party actually supports the opposite view.
    – Pacerier
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 4:44
  • Mmm, I've added a new suggestion: feeding the trolls.
    – ᴇʟᴇvᴀтᴇ
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 20:42
5

You might say “You’re talking to a fence post” (ie, talking to someone who might as well not have ears), if you want to add a slight bit of humor via self-deprecation. More bluntly, you can say “Talk to the hand”. Wikipedia mentions “Talk to the hand, the ears ain’t listening” and “Talk to the hand because the face don’t understand” as variants, but it also call the phrase “quickly dated slang”.

Improve this answer
4
  • "talking to a fence post" doesn't actually imply that the other party actually supports the opposite view.
    – Pacerier
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 4:45
  • I've only heard 'talk to the hand' as something the person who doesn't want to listen says, not the person trying to speak. And yes, it's extremely dated! The full form I remember is "Talk to the hand, the face ain't home."
    – Caleb
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 23:38
  • @CalebBernard, regarding your first sentence, that is ok because the question as phrased is asking what the one who doesn't want to listen can say.
    – James Waldby - jwpat7
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 0:05
  • Ah, you're right. Very good then!
    – Caleb
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 0:06
3

................Preaching to the deaf!

Improve this answer
2
  • "deaf" doesn't actually imply that the other party actually supports the opposite view.
    – Pacerier
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 4:44
  • Quite so (and, with the possible exception of 'preaching to the wrong choir', neither do any of the others on offer. But the title is 'What is the opposite of “preaching to the choir”?' and we're entitled to answer that. As John Lawler says, 'Banging your head against a wall is one opposite.' The title needs editing if OP doesn't want an answer not specifying support of the / an opposite view. But OP seems happy enough with 'casting pearls before swine', which does not guarantee that there is an opposing viewpoint.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 21:58
1

Another option might be: Leading a horse to water.

Improve this answer
1

Almost all of the suggestions given above are pretty good.

You could also tell the person they were barking up the wrong tree or that they had {got hold of / grabbed} the wrong end of the stick if you were primarily trying to indicate that they had misunderstood your position (as opposed to directly disagreeing with it).

Improve this answer
1

To me, the opposite of preaching to the choir, which involves putting arguments before people who are already convinced, is the act of persuading skeptics.

Therefore, I submit that the opposite is winning hearts and minds.

Improve this answer
1
  • If they're open to being convinced to change their minds. Generally that's not the case.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Feb 22, 2015 at 20:08
0

I think "preaching to the choir" is like selling eggs to a chicken; fitting a square peg in a round hole; raking leaves on a windy day.

The OP could say something like "selling Chinese products in Nigeria" - every average Nigerian home boasts of not less than 10 made-in-China products, including phones, radios, TVs, fans, DVDs, fancy lights, kids' toys, clothes, drinks, and films.

Improve this answer
2
  • I have edited your answer, but I didn't know what "gen" meant so deleted it. You can always click the "edit" button and make changes yourself :)
    – nxx
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 2:15
  • 2
    "Selling Chinese products in Nigeria" is a terrible phrase to use. First, most people outside west Africa will have no idea how many Chinese-made products the average Nigerian owns. Second, does the claim that the average Nigerian already owns many Chinese-made products mean that it's easy to sell them more? Or difficult, because they already have all the ones they need?
    – David Richerby
    Commented Dec 7, 2014 at 11:49
0

When a person says "You're preaching to the choir", I think they mean that since they already know or agree with your information, you should find a different audience. So wouldn't the opposite of that be something like: "Go on, I'm listening", or a phrase that would indicate that the person is receiving and valuing the information as something new and interesting, and ready to be convinced?

Improve this answer
2
  • But it doesn't always mean the speaker should find a different audience. Depending on your tone of voice, they could take it as encouragement to keep talking.
    – miltonaut
    Commented Dec 7, 2014 at 11:25
  • 2
    I think it's clear that the question means opposite in the sense that "preaching to the choir" means you're wasting your time by trying to convince people who already agree with you, so the desired phrase should mean wasting your time by trying to convince people who will never agree with you. If the question was looking for a phrase meaning "Not wasting your time by talking to people", the askwe wouldn't have accepted the answer they did.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Dec 7, 2014 at 11:47
0

There actually is an opposite term: Preaching to the pews.

I can't find a good online reference, but I've heard it used before in exactly the context of "not preaching to the choir". A pew is a long bench, like is often used in churches.

Improve this answer
0

We always said

Right church, wrong pew

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    That sounds like it should be funny but I don't get it. Is the intention that certain pews (like maybe at the front) believe certain things and others believe possibly other things even within the same church?
    – Mitch
    Commented Feb 22, 2015 at 23:12
  • 1
    Forgive me - I'm dyslexic and totally turned the saying around backward. Properly it is: Right pew, wrong church. Though I suppose the way I originally posted it would work, too. :) I found this definition: Idiom Definitions for 'Right church, wrong pew' Right church, wrong pew means that someone is very nearly right, but something is wrong. usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/right+church+wrong+pew.html also this for right church, wrong pew: An idea is nearly right, but still off target; you're in the right place but not specifically
    – Mari
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 0:01
0

"Paddling upstream" "Going against the grain" I considered "Playing devils advocate," and it sort of fits in that you are presenting an unpopular opinion for the sake of discussion. But in that case it is an opinion you may not actually believe or be passionate about.

Improve this answer
0

How about a modern expression like "Feeding the trolls"?

Given that online trolls intentionally take an opposite stance to you and generally become nastier and more antagonistic the more you talk to them.

Improve this answer
0

Besides "casting pearls before swine", here's some other alternatives:

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.