wild goose chase
Pointless, fruitless errand
A wild goose chase is a futile pursuit of something unattainable or nonexistent.
The phrase suggests wasted effort chasing after something that keeps eluding you or was never there to begin with: The detective spent weeks on what turned out to be a wild goose chase.
Originally an Elizabethan term for a type of horse race where riders followed a leader in unpredictable patterns—like geese in flight.
- snipe huntPrank seeking nonexistent prey
- red herringIntentional misleading distraction
- fool's goldIron sulfide mineral
- pipe dreamUnrealistic aspiration
- fool's errandHopeless, pointless task
pie in the sky · needle in a haystack · dead end · blind alley · bridge to nowhere · mirage · castle in the air · chimera · misdirection · tilt at windmills · lost cause · smoke and mirrors · mare's nest · boondoggle · cock-and-bull story · barking up the wrong tree · folly · fruitless
- bird expressionsearly bird, birdbrain, bird brain, lovebirds, jailbird
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, maxim, folk saying, old saying
- Futile Effortslost causes, fool's errand, dead end, waste of time, Sisyphean task
- Old Idiomsbeyond the pale, hue and cry, scot-free, knight in shining armor, eat humble pie
- AllusionsAchilles heel, Pandora's box, Trojan horse, forbidden fruit, Midas touch
- Futile tasksfool's errand, tilting at windmills, herding cats, beating dead horse, rearranging deck chairs
wild goose chasesure thing
Guaranteed outcome or agreement
safe bet · slam dunk · surgical strike · money in the bank · lock
wild goose chasesurgical strike
Targeted operation minimizing damage
direct approach · straight shot · beeline · laser focus · zeroing in
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