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As many of you know, I work in science. Today there was much frustration (for me anyways) at work in which we found a typo in some product information that basically means I've been on a "wild goose chase" for several months chasing a protein that isn't where they said it'd be.
But enough about that... during the mess I thought "why the heck do we say we've been on a wild goose chase?" I mean, I was on a wild protein chase, it has nothing to do with a goose!
So where did the phrase "wild goose chase" originate?
This phrase was introduced by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet in 1592.
Romeo: Switch and spurs, switch and spurs; or I'll cry a match.
Mercutio: Nay, if thy wits run the wild goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose i on of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.
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| Collection of Vintage Shakespeare Books, MamaVonVintage, $12 on Etsy |
Wow...I had a terrible time understanding what Shakespeare said when I was taking English Literature classes back before I got to focus mostly on science coursework and no wonder...I mean, what the heck does that jibberish above mean? Shakespeare, your work is classic and beautiful...but hard to read nowadays.
In Shakespeare's time a wild goose chase referred to horse racing in which horses followed a lead horse in wild geese flying formation.
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However, by 1811, the phrase meaning had changed. In Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue he defined the phrase as: "A tedious uncertain persuit, like the following of a flock of wild geese, who are remarkably shy".
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| Taking Off Goose Portrait by aliensink on Etsy, $25 |
Yep, this is pretty much what it looks like when you chase a goose...*looks innocent* not that I ever chased the geese at my Papaw's house. ;)
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