reinvent the wheel

jargon To design or implement a tool equivalent to an

existing one or part of one, with the implication that doing

so is silly or a waste of time. This is often a valid

criticism. On the other hand, automobiles don't use wooden

rollers, and some kinds of wheel have to be reinvented many

times before you get them right. On the third hand, people

reinventing the wheel do tend to come up with the moral

equivalent of a trapezoid with an offset axle.

[Jargon File]

(1997-04-12)