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I’m trying to rack my head, but I can’t think right now. So I’m asking the reliable interwebs, what is a phrase that means mission impossible. Insert word or phrase into blank;
“The Vikings are ____ themselves in a ___ to try to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract.”
Is there a single word for 'mission impossible' that would fill the blank?
If you
paint yourself into a corner
you have made things very difficult or impossible to get out of.
The Vikings have painted themselves into a corner to try to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract.
You are already verging on something very near to the same meaning. Though it looks like you might have a noun in mind, the use of the phrase/idiom "near to impossible" (verb) or "near-to-impossible" (noun) as a descriptor would fit perfectly.
“The Vikings are engaging themselves in a near-to-impossible task/try/attempt to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract.”
Otherwise, since your question is tagged as a single-word-request, you might use "hopelessness" just as well.
“The Vikings are fooling themselves with the hopelessness of trying to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract.”
How about "The Vikings are engaged themselves in a futile attempt to try to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract." It would work if "themselves" is emphasized.
What you seek is a hollow pursuit. "The Vikings are bogged down in the empty pursuit of trying to trade the bulk of Kirk Cousins contract.” All sorts of examples abound on the net.
