fool's errand
12
7.2
- noun
- /fuːlz ˈɛrənd/
- Informal
:
tarea inútil
- Chasing the effect without identifying the cause is a fool's errand.
Examples
-
Don't lose it running off on some fool's errand.
-
Another route to reform—tinkering with procedures instead of substance—also turns out to be a fool's errand.
Academic text (1995) -
It's a fool's errand and you will only get yourself killed.
-
But far more is involved than just wasting money on a fool's errand.
Blog text (31) -
Three days into his voyage, Jan began to wonder if he was on a fool's errand.
Fiction book (1995) -
I thought trying to relive our visit from the previous week was a fool's errand.
Fiction book (1994) -
Based on the above data, trying to reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is a fool's errand.
Blog text (34) -
I just think it's a fool's errand that leads nowhere except to be constantly hand-wringing and second-guessing yourself.
Blog text (7) -
Arguing with him about politics is a fool's errand because he never changes his mind.
-
Trying to convince her to go back to that job was just a fool's errand from the start.
Synonyms
126
2.7
An activity that takes time but does not help you
39
4.9
Something that has no chance of success
22
6.6
A hopeless search for something that does not exist
14
9.9
Work that looks useful but wastes time or money
4
3.9
An activity that uses your time but does not help you
4
6.2
A plan that leads nowhere and cannot succeed
3
2.9
An action that uses effort but achieves nothing useful
3
7.2
A task that is so difficult people think it cannot be done
1
9.9
An activity that is foolish and unlikely to succeed
1
4.4
An attempt that does not get what you want
1
3.8
An action that uses time and energy but gives no useful result
1
8.1
Doing something that leads nowhere useful
A lot of activity or talk that makes no real progress
Antonyms
How Pointless
39
4.9
- Informal
22
6.6
- Informal
12
7.2
126
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
fool's + errand
A learner who knows 'fool' and 'errand' can compositionally interpret this as an errand associated with a fool, i.e. a foolish or ill-advised task, so the basic idea of it being a bad or pointless task is inferable. However, the conventionalized sense — that the task is futile or has no chance of success — is an established idiomatic usage that goes beyond a purely literal possessive reading, so full understanding may require prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom fool's errand may come from old practical jokes where people sent a naive person to look for something that did not exist. The picture of a fool sent on a useless errand helps explain why today it means 'a pointless task'.