# wild-goose chase

Pronunciation: say "wyld-GOOS-chays" US /ˌwaɪld ˈɡus ˌt͡ʃeɪs/, UK /ˌwaɪld ˈɡuːs ˌt͡ʃeɪs/

## Idiom

1. A futile search or fruitless errand; also, a useless, often long task far more complicated than its result is worth.
   - Simple: A long, hard search or task that turns out to be useless.
   - _The anonymous tip sent detectives on a wild-goose chase across three counties._
   - _Getting a refund through the airline's phone menu turned into a two-week wild-goose chase._

## Origin

Early recorded uses refer to a 16th-century horse race in which every rider had to follow the erratic course of the lead horse, as wild geese follow their leader in formation. It is mentioned in 1593 in Gervase Markham's book on horsemanship, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, scene 4), where Mercutio says "if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done", and in Robert Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy (1621).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wild-goose-chase (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).