"wild goose chase" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wild goose chases",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "wild goose chase"
      },
      "expansion": "wild goose chase (plural wild goose chases)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "wild-goose chase"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), pages 230, 231, 232, 233",
          "text": "\"I'm inquiring after a Miss Tomson, please. I don't know the number of her apartment.\"\n\"Nobody here called Tomson. Does she have a dog?\"\n\"Goliath was his name.\"\n\"Well, you want Dizzy Darling. The model. But if she's who you're looking for she still ain't here. She's nearly gone two months. Just a minute I'll look here and see if I can find a forwarding address. Nope. Don't see a forwarding address. Sorry you come on a wild goose chase. Here, have a piece of chewing gum.\"\n\"Thank you.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of wild-goose chase"
      ],
      "id": "en-wild_goose_chase-en-noun-5JQyFIaw",
      "links": [
        [
          "wild-goose chase",
          "wild-goose chase#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "wild goose chase"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "wild goose chases",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "wild goose chase"
      },
      "expansion": "wild goose chase (plural wild goose chases)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "wild-goose chase"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), pages 230, 231, 232, 233",
          "text": "\"I'm inquiring after a Miss Tomson, please. I don't know the number of her apartment.\"\n\"Nobody here called Tomson. Does she have a dog?\"\n\"Goliath was his name.\"\n\"Well, you want Dizzy Darling. The model. But if she's who you're looking for she still ain't here. She's nearly gone two months. Just a minute I'll look here and see if I can find a forwarding address. Nope. Don't see a forwarding address. Sorry you come on a wild goose chase. Here, have a piece of chewing gum.\"\n\"Thank you.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of wild-goose chase"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wild-goose chase",
          "wild-goose chase#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "wild goose chase"
}