Idiom
fool's errand
Meaning
A foolish undertaking, especially one that is purposeless, fruitless, nonsensical, or certain to fail.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Searching for that lost key in the dark is a fool's errand.”
“Trying to fix this broken computer without any tools is just a fool's errand.”
“The explorers realized that searching for the mythical city in such harsh conditions was a fool's errand, yet they continued their journey regardless.”
Examples
simple
“Searching for that lost key in the dark is a fool's errand.”
contextual
“Trying to fix this broken computer without any tools is just a fool's errand.”
complex
“The explorers realized that searching for the mythical city in such harsh conditions was a fool's errand, yet they continued their journey regardless.”
Origin
First recorded in the 18th century as a compound of fool and errand.
Key words
Related idioms
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