wild goose chase 白费力气的追逐（追求）；徒劳之举

【例句】
You're led on a wild goose chase if you look for an apartment in the papers.
如果你指望通过报纸找到公寓，那是白费劲。

I went on this wild goose chase as far as I could.
我在这劳而无功的事上花的时间太多了。