He’s attempting to take a photograph of a rare turtle that lives there, but first he has to find it.
In this episode of Famous Phrases, the professor must valiantly search his library of classic works without losing his way in order to find the origin of this well known phrase. It was not used to suggest a useless pursuit that’s doomed to failure, as it is today. Gervase Markham published an equestrian instructional manual: What Mercutio has in mind is the lead horse, as Romeo has assumed the lead in the wordplay. But its original sense was entirely different; it was defined as follows in a kind of horse-race, in which two horses were started together, the rider who gained the lead forcing the other to follow him wherever he chose to go.The Wildgoose Chase received its Name from the manner of the flight which is made by Wildgeese, which is generally one after another: so the two – Mercutio: Come between vs good Benuolio, for my wits faile.thy wits, than I haue in al my fiue: Was I with you there for– Romeo: Thou wert neuer with me for any thing, when– Mercutio: Ile bite thee by the eare for that iest.– Mercutio: Why thy wit is a bitter sweeting, a most sharp sauce– Romeo: And was it not well seru’d in to a sweet goose?– Mercutio: Oh heere is a witte of Cheuerell that stretcheth– Romeo: I stretcht it out for the word broad, which added tothe goose, proues thee faire and wide a broad goose.The phrase came to be used figuratively in the sense of an erratic course taken by a person, especially in following their own impulses, as in this passage from That hath slept well to night, should a but see meea pursuit of something as unlikely to be caught as the wildgoose.This reinterpretation has continued up to the present day, as shown by the definition of any search, pursuit, or endeavor regarded as being as futile as trying to catch a wild goose by chasing it.The following also shows how the origin of the phrase came to be reinterpreted; in Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. a kind of horse-race, in which two horses were started together, the rider who gained the lead forcing the other to follow him wherever he chose to go. done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of When someone is on a “wild goose chase,” they are pursuing something that seems to be pointless or unattainable.Example: Simon is deep within a forest. Nor did it have anything to do with geese.
In Grose's "A tedious uncertain pursuit, like the following a flock of wild geese, who are remarkably shy." The way in which the race is conducted is that two horses having started at the starting point, race by the side of each other, till one having obtained the lead, is entitled to proceed in whatever direction the rider pleases, either by shortening or prolonging the distance to the winning spot previously agreed on, according to the conditions of his horse, or veering right or left. Watch Queue Queue. Unfinished block size: 17.5" x 17.5" Fat Quarter Shop has a large selection of free PDF patterns. A 'wild goose chase' was a race in which horses followed a lead horse at a set distance, mimicking wild geese flying in formation. It’s been three days, and Simon is starting to believe he’s on a In other words, he thinks trying to locate this rare turtle is pretty much impossible and is thus not worth the time.It’s believed that this phrase’s origin is rooted in some type of 16th century horse racing. Origin: it seems easy to imagine how this idiom originated because trying to chase a wild goose would almost always be unsuccessful. wild goose chase A prolonged or chaotic search for something that is difficult to find (often because it does not exist). Watch Queue Queue Meaning: an unsuccessful search for something that does not exist or you are unlikely to discover. Learn more. How many of us know why a useless pursuit should be termed a wild goose chase rather than some other activity, though?The phrase as it is used today has come into modern common use via a somewhat chequered route.