English equivalent of "send the demon to fill a wicker basket with water"

Question

In Catalan language, there is a popular refrain that talks about someone meeting a demon, and the demon offer the person to perform any tasks they want them to do, which the demon will gladly do for them, but when they are finished doing the tasks, if they can't think of any more work to do for the demon, the demon will take their soul.

In this popular refrain, the person cleverly "sends the demon to fill a wicker basket with water" in the nearby fountain. Because the water trickles down the bottom of the wicker basket as its being poured from the fountain, the demon is stuck trying to accomplish that task, and thus the person can keep their soul.

I was wondering if there is this equivalent in English of "sending the demon to fill a wicker basket with water", to mean that you send someone to do a meaningless task that, by definition, is impossible to complete.

But what does the saying ultimately mean? Can you make a usage example ? Is it said when you want to get rid of someone ? — user 66974, Sep 02 '21 at 12:39
"Look for a needle in a haystack" is close in describing the task, but it lacks the backing tale about fooling the devil. — Canadian Yankee, Sep 02 '21 at 12:42
Does this answer your question? Word for a task which is flawed or doomed to failure but which you have to do anyway? — Edwin Ashworth, Sep 02 '21 at 13:23

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 02 '21 at 12:42

It sounds like a Sisyphean task, as explained by MW:

requiring continual and often ineffective effort

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who annoyed the gods with his trickery. As a consequence, he was condemned for eternity to roll a huge rock up a long, steep hill in the underworld, only to watch it roll back down. The story of Sisyphus is often told in conjunction with that of Tantalus, who was condemned to stand beneath fruit-laden boughs, up to his chin in water. Whenever he bent his head to drink, the water receded, and whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches moved beyond his grasp. Thus to tantalize is to tease or torment by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach - and something Sisyphean (or Sisyphian, pronounced \sih-SIFF-ee-un) demands unending, thankless, and ultimately unsuccessful efforts.

English equivalent of "send the demon to fill a wicker basket with water"

1 Answers1