| 释义 |
●a ˌwild ˈgoose chasea (long) search for sth that you cannot find because you have been given the wrong information （因信息错误而长途／长时）徒劳追寻；白费力气的追逐；徒劳之举◆He gave us the wrong directions to the station and that led us off on a wild goose chase.他给我们指错了方向，我们白费力气，根本找不到火车站。◆Peter’s story sent the police on a wild goose chase. They soon realized he’d been lying.彼得的鬼话误导了警方的侦查工作。他们很快意识到他在撒谎。 ORIGIN In the past, this was a sport in which horse riders had to follow the exact course taken by the first rider, like the way that geese fly by following a leader. Later it referred to any unplanned or irregular course taken by one person and followed by another, and then came to mean something that was like trying to find a wild goose: that is, a difficult or hopeless task. 这是旧时的一项运动，骑手们必须严格按照第一个骑手的路线走，就像天鹅群跟随领飞的天鹅一样。后来这用来表示众人跟随某人毫无规划、杂乱无章的行动方针；之后又指试图寻找野天鹅之类的事，由此产生出“艰难而毫无希望的任务”之意。 |