wild-goose chase
noun [ C ] informal uk/ˌwaɪldˈɡuːs ˌtʃeɪs/ us/ˌwaɪldˈɡuːs ˌtʃeɪs/
白费力气的搜寻；徒劳之举
a search that is completely unsuccessful and a waste of time because the person or thing being searched for does not exist or is somewhere else
After two hours spent wandering in the snow, I realized we were on a wild goose chase. 在雪中转了两小时之后，我意识到我们是在白费力气。