around and around
1. Literally, in a circle. I've been walking around and around the parking lot, and I still can't find my car. Look at the ballerina twirling around and around! I don't understand how dogs can be so entertained just by chasing their tail around and around.
2. In a circuitous, indirect fashion, without an end or satisfactory result. We've gone around and around with the insurance company, and they still haven't paid our claim. Look, we're just going around and around at this point. Let's put a pin in the issue and come back to it another time. He is determined to misunderstand me, so that's it—I'm done arguing around and around with him.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
round and round
Also, around and around. In circles, as in You've gone round and round with the same argument and we still have no solution. This idiom transfers moving in a circle to mental or verbal activities. [Second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.