wild goose chase
徒劳的寻找，白费力气的追逐
I think young lady that you are embarking upon what was certainly proved to be a wild goose chase.
我认为，这名年轻女子正在进行徒劳的寻找和追逐，这一点将肯定可以得到证实。
From the beginning he has never concealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolute fraud that we are all embarked upon an absurd wild-goose chase
自一开始，他就从未掩饰他认为Challenger教授是个彻底冒牌货的观点。他相信我们都在从事一场荒唐的、白费力气的追逐。
and that we are likely to reap nothing but disappointment and danger in South America and corresponding ridicule in England．
我们的收获可能只有失望、在南美的危险，以及英国那边随之而来的嘲笑。
white elephant
昂贵而无用之物，或者说带来麻烦远远大于实陈好处的东西。
He bought himself a white elephant．
认为这支队伍不会有什么作为，只会带来麻烦，是典型的“白象”。
I’m not going to repeat my order to every person in this office individually .
我不会对办公室里所有的人逐个重复我的指令。
My people are not gonna chase that white elephant.
我们的反恐人员肯定不去追查那条没结果的线索。
They are busy trying to locate 19 canisters of sentox nerve gas.
他们正忙着找到那19罐神经性毒气。
Has it occurred to you that if threat is real, it’s likelv that the terrorists who have the sentox nerve gas are the same ones as is planning the anack?
你有没有想过，如果这个威胁是真的，那么持有神经性毒气的恐怖分子有可能就是策划这次袭击事件的人？
That is an unverified threat.
这是个未经证实的威胁。
If you wanna hand it off to NSA，be my guest.
如果你想转达给国家安全局，随你便。
My peoply are not gonna chase that wild goose.
我们不会白费力气。