wild goose
Feral migratory bird
A wild goose is any undomesticated goose, as opposed to farm-raised birds.
The phrase appears most often in wild goose chase—a futile pursuit of something unattainable or nonexistent, from the erratic flight patterns of wild geese that make them nearly impossible to catch.
Aerodynamic group flight pattern
- flywayEstablished bird migration path
- flockAnimals gathered together
- migrationMovement to new territory
- southboundHeading toward the pole below
overwinter · breeding · wetlands · stopover · honking · gaggle · skein · waterfowl
Incapable of producing results
- fruitlessProducing no useful outcome
- pointlessLacking any purpose
- vainExcessively proud or futile
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
hopeless · useless · fool's errand · snipe hunt · red herring · dead end · quixotic · unavailing
Cannot be seized
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- slipperyLacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- evasiveAvoiding direct response
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
unattainable · will-o'-the-wisp · fugitive · intangible · quarry · pursuit · escape · vanishing
V-formation
Aerodynamic group flight pattern
- flywayEstablished bird migration path
- flockAnimals gathered together
- migrationMovement to new territory
southbound · overwinter · breeding · wetlands · stopover · honking · gaggle · skein · waterfowl · greylag
futile
Incapable of producing results
unproductive · hopeless · useless · fool's errand · snipe hunt · red herring · dead end · quixotic · unavailing · ineffectual
uncatchable
Cannot be seized
phantom · unattainable · will-o'-the-wisp · fugitive · intangible · quarry · pursuit · escape · vanishing · unreachable
- Geesegreylag, brant, gander
- game animalsdeer, pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit
- animal expressionslet sleeping dogs lie, raining cats and dogs, curiosity killed cat, horse sense, chickens come home
- James BayJames Bay, Hudson Bay
wild, goose, wildly, wildlife, geese, wildness, wildflower, wilder, gosling