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fool's errand

noun

Etymology

First use apppears c. the 18th century.

Definitions

  1. A foolish undertaking, especially one that is purposeless, fruitless, nonsensical, or…

    A foolish undertaking, especially one that is purposeless, fruitless, nonsensical, or certain to fail.

    • If I were to travel only that I might be discontented with that which I can get at home, methinks I should go but on a fool's errand.
    • Shultz took little notice of the Soviet view or that of others who said his Middle East mission was a fool's errand. "You can't be too afraid of failing," said the 67-year-old diplomat.

  2. Such an undertaking, assigned as a prank.

    • Meronyms: blinker fluid, key to the midway, left-handed monkey wrench, muffler bearing, skyhook
    • Near-synonym: wild-goose chase

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for fool's errand. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA