Ever been on a wild goose chase? Wild Goose Chase Etymology[edit] Early recorded use refers to a type of 16th century horse race where everyone had to try to follow the erratic course of the lead horse, like wild geese have to follow their leader in formation. Mentioned in the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 4 by the character Mercutio: "Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five." Mentioned in Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Common use in the current may be the origin for the sport sense.[1] Noun wild-goose chase (plural wild-goose chases) (idiomatic) (figuratively) A futile search, a fruitless errand; a useless and often lengthy pursuit. I went on a wild-goose chase all over the town looking for that adapter until I discovered they no longer make them. A task whose execution is inordinately complex relative to the value of the outcome. Diagnosing this software application's problems is a wild-goose chase because it is built in an environment that has poor debugging tools. Usage notes As wild-goose chase literally means "a chase for wild geese", it is usually hyphenated as shown for clarity. The form without the hyphen is also commonly seen, and can be construed as a "wild chase", not an inevitably fruitless one, after a possibly domesticated and flightless goose, rather than after a wild goose. Synonyms (fruitless errand): merry dance
After the Treaty of Limerick (1691), most of the Hacobites sailed away to serve in the armies of France and Austria, leaving the Catholic Irish defenseless. They became know as the "Wild Geese".
I love seeing geese fly, but I can't stand walking in a park over-run with them, they make a huge mess and hiss if you get too close. There's a small swimming place near my friend's home, just a pond-sized place near a dam with sand, etc. The town put up 3 cardboard images of dogs to keep the geese away because the year before, they actually caused the water to be unsafe to swim in with all their waste. It worked! This is the Goose I did love:
Sheldon, Ive had roast goose and its delicious, not sure I would like wild goose though. Ruby, we have a park here with a lake and the ducks and geese are all over the place....when my california grandsons were smaller I took them there to feed them bread...not my grandsons...the geese. They are scary and practically rip the bread from your hand and almost knocked down the younger grandson, plus you cant even step anywhere that isnt covered in goose poo (drooped the p because of Lara )
We have them in the marshy areas. Love the sound of them overhead. Wild and free. Stark power in the sky. I wish I could ride the wind with them. They call me.
This is a magpie goose. They are native to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, so I've never seen one in the wild. I have, though, seen them at wetlands centres in the UK and there is something wonderfully prehistoric about them. Not surprisingly, they are the oldest surviving form of wildfowl.
9th Century Irish Poem The stag bells, winter snows, summer has gone Wind high and cold, the sun low, short its course The sea running high. Deep red the bracken; its shape is lost; The wild goose has raised its accustomed cry, Cold has seized the birds' wings; Season of ice, this is my news.