Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)To do somethingpointlessorinsignificantthat will soon beovertakenbyevents, or thatcontributesnothing to the solution of a current problem.1969January 17,Nan C. Robertson, quoting Elizabeth Carpenter, “White House Memories Recalled By Mrs. Johnson's Press Aide”, inNew York Times, page18:All the new people want an office close to the President's. You should see them scramble. It's like fighting fora deck chair on the Titanic.1972May 15, Joseph Eger, “Listening to the Vibes”, inNew York Times, page34:Administrators are running around straightening outdeck chairswhilethe Titanicgoes down.1976May 16, Rogers Morton, quotee,Washington Post:I'm not going torearrangethe furnitureon the deck of the Titanic.2005July 24,Business Online:Gordon Brown's decision to redefine Britain's economic cycle has been damned by one of the City's most influential economic forecasters, which accuses the Chancellor of the Exchequer of doing little more than "movingthe deckchairs on the Titanic".2006April 29,Stephen Colbert,White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Washington, D.C.:"And then you write, ‘Oh, they're justrearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.’ First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they arerearranging the deck chairson the Hindenburg!"2023November 14, Marina Hyde, “Rewarding failure? With David Cameron’s return, it’s being celebrated like never before”, inThe Guardian[1],→ISSN:Inevitably, people have suggested that pulling a move to restore Cameron to the frontline is likerearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, but arguably that doesn’t really cover it.
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