Phrase/Boil the Ocean

• Boil the Ocean

  • Wiktionary has

    • To undertake an overwhelmingly difficult task or approach to a problem.
      

  • To me, this is an understatement. I would say it's more like

    • To try to solve a problem by choosing an approach that only works in totality
      

  • or possibly,

    • To try to solve a problem in a way that minimizes the chance of success relative to other approaches