wild-goose chase en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Early recorded use refers to a type of 16th century horse race where everyone had to try to follow the erratic course of the lead horse, like wild geese have to follow their leader in formation. Mentioned in 1593 in the English poet Gervase Markham’s book about horsemanship. Also mentioned in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 4 by the character Mercutio: “Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.” Mentioned in Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Common use in the current may be the origin for the sport sense.
Meanings
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(figuratively, idiomatic) A futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome.
Diagnosing this software application's problems is a wild-goose chase because it is built in an environment that has poor debugging tools.
From the beginning he has never concealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolute fraud, that we are all embarked upon an absurd wild-goose chase and that we are likely to reap nothing but disappointment and danger in South America, and corresponding ridicule in England.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:I went on a wild-goose chase all over the town looking for that adapter until I discovered they no longer make them.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wild-goose chases | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| wild goose chase | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
red herring · chase a rainbow · go off into the weeds · the cake is a lie · tilt at windmills
Synonyms
fool's errand · merry dance · snipe hunt · exercise in futility · snark hunt
Translations (22)
pl szukanie wiatru w polu (fruitless, futile pursuit) · gd air gnothaich na cuthaig (fruitless, futile pursuit) · gl andar á caza de ventos (fruitless, futile pursuit) · my English (fruitless, futile pursuit) · es búsqueda inútil (fruitless, futile pursuit) · gl viaxe aos páxaros (fruitless, futile pursuit) · fi neulan etsiminen heinäsuovasta (fruitless, futile pursuit) · it caccia ai fantasmi (fruitless, futile pursuit) · fi hukkareissu (fruitless, futile pursuit) · cy chwilio am nyth cwhwrw (fruitless, futile pursuit) · he מרדף שווא (fruitless, futile pursuit) · pt caça aos gambozinos (fruitless, futile pursuit) · de fruchtloses Unterfangen (fruitless, futile pursuit) · it ricerca inutile (fruitless, futile pursuit) · uk шукати вітер у полі (fruitless, futile pursuit) · it sforzo inutile (fruitless, futile pursuit) · de but see sinnloses Unterfangen (fruitless, futile pursuit) · ga gogaille gó (fruitless, futile pursuit) · it ricerca vana (fruitless, futile pursuit) · cmn 徒勞 /徒劳 (fruitless, futile pursuit) · ka ველური ბაჭიანი დევნა (fruitless, futile pursuit) · cmn 竹籃打水 /竹篮打水 (fruitless, futile pursuit)
wikipedia: Gervase Markham · wikipedia: William Shakespeare · wikipedia: Anatomy of Melancholy · wikipedia: Romeo and Juliet · wikipedia: Robert Burton (scholar)