Etymology Journal · W
Wild goose chase
Meaning
- A pursuit of something that is unattainable, nonexistent, or impossible to achieve. It describes a situation where you are being sent on a fruitless journey.
Frustrated, cynical
Used in a sentence
- I spent all morning looking for a file that did not exist; what a wild goose chase.
- Do not send me on a wild goose chase if you do not actually know where the key is.
- Searching for his lost glasses was a wild goose chase since he was already wearing them.
The backstory
Originally, this referred to a 16th-century horse-riding race where riders had to follow a leader in a jagged pattern like a flight of wild geese. It later became synonymous with useless errands.
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