a wild goose chase

Related to a wild goose chase: What's Sauce for the Goose

wild goose chase

A prolonged or chaotic search for something that is difficult to find (often because it does not exist). I've been on a wild goose chase trying to find a bag of Dan's favorite potato chips. Those jerks sent me on a wild goose chase to find a copy of a book that hasn't been released yet!

See also: chase, goose, wild

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a wild goose chase

If you describe a search for something as a wild goose chase, you mean that it was a waste of time and you found nothing, usually because the information you were given was wrong. Every time I've gone to Rome to try to find out if the story could be true, it has turned out to be a wild goose chase. I hope I haven't been sent off on another wild goose chase. Note: In medieval times, a wild goose chase was an unusual kind of horse race. It started with an ordinary horse race. The winner then rode in any direction they chose and the other riders had to follow. The race may have been called `a wild goose chase' because the movements of wild geese are often irregular and unpredictable, which makes them difficult to hunt.

See also: chase, goose, wild

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a wild goose chase

a foolish and hopeless search for or pursuit of something unattainable.

This expression is first recorded in the late 16th century. It was then the term for a kind of equestrian sport in which all the competitors had to follow accurately the course of the leader at definite intervals, like a flight of wild geese. Later, the term was applied to an erratic course taken by one person or thing and followed by another.

1998 Spectator The ‘struggle to align the clock and the heavens’, then, is ultimately the story of mortal vanity, or at least a wild goose chase.

See also: chase, goose, wild

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a ˌwild ˈgoose chase

a (long) search for something that you cannot find because you have been given the wrong information: He gave us the wrong directions to the station and that led us off on a wild goose chase. Peter’s story sent the police on a wild goose chase. They soon realized he’d been lying.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.

See also: chase, goose, wild

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

wild goose chase, a

A fruitless search or senseless pursuit. Pursuing a wild goose was already transferred to other wild chases by Shakespeare’s time. A popular follow-the-leader game was so called, and referred to by Shakespeare: “Nay if thy wits run the wild goose chase, I have done” (Romeo and Juliet, 2:4).

词组	a wild goose chase
释义	a wild goose chase Related to a wild goose chase: What's Sauce for the Goose wild goose chase A prolonged or chaotic search for something that is difficult to find (often because it does not exist). I've been on a wild goose chase trying to find a bag of Dan's favorite potato chips. Those jerks sent me on a wild goose chase to find a copy of a book that hasn't been released yet! See also: chase, goose, wild Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. a wild goose chase If you describe a search for something as a wild goose chase, you mean that it was a waste of time and you found nothing, usually because the information you were given was wrong. Every time I've gone to Rome to try to find out if the story could be true, it has turned out to be a wild goose chase. I hope I haven't been sent off on another wild goose chase. Note: In medieval times, a wild goose chase was an unusual kind of horse race. It started with an ordinary horse race. The winner then rode in any direction they chose and the other riders had to follow. The race may have been called `a wild goose chase' because the movements of wild geese are often irregular and unpredictable, which makes them difficult to hunt. See also: chase, goose, wild Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. a wild goose chase a foolish and hopeless search for or pursuit of something unattainable. This expression is first recorded in the late 16th century. It was then the term for a kind of equestrian sport in which all the competitors had to follow accurately the course of the leader at definite intervals, like a flight of wild geese. Later, the term was applied to an erratic course taken by one person or thing and followed by another. 1998 Spectator The ‘struggle to align the clock and the heavens’, then, is ultimately the story of mortal vanity, or at least a wild goose chase. See also: chase, goose, wild Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary a ˌwild ˈgoose chase a (long) search for something that you cannot find because you have been given the wrong information: He gave us the wrong directions to the station and that led us off on a wild goose chase. Peter’s story sent the police on a wild goose chase. They soon realized he’d been lying.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. See also: chase, goose, wild Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary wild goose chase, a A fruitless search or senseless pursuit. Pursuing a wild goose was already transferred to other wild chases by Shakespeare’s time. A popular follow-the-leader game was so called, and referred to by Shakespeare: “Nay if thy wits run the wild goose chase, I have done” (Romeo and Juliet, 2:4). See also: goose, wild The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer See also: wild goose chase wild goose chase, a wild-goose chase find it in one's heart, (not) to enclosed please find (something) enclosed please find... Where can (one) find you? Where will I find you? lay around lie around References in periodicals archive Marketers have been sent on a wild goose chase There are 600 million people who have no access to toilets or drinking water. Marketers have been sent on a wild goose chase Eddie Hume sent us on a wild goose chase (briefly) due to the full-sleeve tats. Of where do you remember me from? We are all familiar with cartoons in which Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck throw on a quick, transparent disguise and send the pursuing Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd off on a wild goose chase. Politicians regularly use this ploy when caught red-handed, pointing to some supposed crisis or a scandal involving their opponents to divert attention from their own misdeeds. "They went that way!" the establishment mediameisters have compiled a proven record for concealing crimes and diverting public attention to side issues or completely fabricated stories. (Misdirection) And what are the chances of drunk drivers phoning to say they've spotted someone who's downed half-a-dozen large ones heading eastbound along the North Circular on a wild goose chase while they weave off in the opposite direction? Sue Carroll Column: Cut the grass When Rosemary Miner takes off on a wild goose chase, she knows exactly where she's heading. Real-life mother goose: a visit to Gooseneck Hill Farm clearly reveals it's nothing but the good life for these honkers and quackers This rich nobleman from Caio in the hills north of Llandovery led the army of Henry IV on a wild goose chase through impenetrable countryside in 1401 rather than follow the king's instructions to betray Owain Glyndw^r. English drink to Welsh 'Braveheart' Westgate Finding the next two addresses turned out to be a wild goose chase. The tenants at an apartment complex that seemed to me "exactly 75 meters west of the Colegio Metodista" knew nothing. SEARCHING FOR CAMELOT But whereas the first novel dwelt on the troublesome stasis of life on the bum among the self-appointed wretched of the earth, More Bread or I'll Appear is a wild goose chase. Or, seeing that the novel is a portmanteau of contemporary Irish themes (along with much, much more), maybe it should be called a Wild Goose chase. More Bread or I'll Appear She said they went on a wild goose chase while looking for him. Pedicab driver taken by 'cop' still missing And they were also concerned they could be on a wild goose chase to rescue Harvey in time. There's a goose loose about this eh.. lake He manages to send most of his rivals off on a wild goose chase, leaving him free to hunt at his own pace. DAYTIME MOVIES When we got wind of where he was staying we went off on a wild goose chase to find him. Star snap Llywelyn, a rich landowner in his sixties from Caio in northern Carmarthenshire, led the royal army on a wild goose chase for several weeks on the pretence that he was guiding them to Glynd ^wr's forces. Special brew for a true Welsh Braveheart; LLANDOVERY Simon Westland, filming the dig for a documentary, said: "This could be a wild goose chase or it could be amazing." I BURIED GEMS 'ERA RESCUE teams were sent on a wild goose chase when an old ship's emergency beacon went off in a scrapyard. THE JUNKYARD COASTGUARD; Scrap ship alert
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