# throw one's cap over the windmill

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To act in a bizarre, eccentric or immoral manner.

## Etymology
Probably a calque of French jeter son bonnet par-dessus les moulins .
Widely reported as deriving from a passage in the novel Don Quixote in which the titular character throws his cap over a windmill that he has mistaken for a giant, as a challenge. However, no such passage exists in the book.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/throw-one-s-cap-over-the-windmill