wild-goose chase: Meaning and Definition of

wild'-goose' chase"

Pronunciation: (wīld'gs'), [key]
  1. a wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable: a wild-goose chase looking for a building long demolished.
  2. any senseless pursuit of an object or end; a hopeless enterprise: Her scheme of being a movie star is a wild-goose chase.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.