A snipe hunt, a form of wild-goose chase that is also known as a fool's errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun ofcredulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. The origin of the term is a practical joke where inexperienced campers are told about a bird or animal called the snipe as well as a usually ridiculous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises. Incidentally, the snipe (a family of shorebirds) is difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word "sniper" is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one.[1]
In the most popular version of the snipe hunt, especially in the American South, a newcomer is taken deep into the woods late at night and told to make a clucking noise while holding a large sack. The others, who are in on the joke, say that they will sneak away and then walk back towards the newcomer, thereby driving snipes towards the bag holder. The frightened snipes, they say, will be attracted to the clucking noise and easily caught in the bag. The newcomer is then simply left in the dark forest, holding the bag, to eventually realize his gullibility and find his way home or back to camp.
A wild goose chase can also be more serious, either a deliberate attempt to thwart an opponent by sending him/her off on a quest based on misinformation, or a mistake on one's own part leading to a hopeless quest. [2]
we have some young ones right now, and one of these young ones are from Russia. it took a while to convince her that there were snipes, we just walked along the timber line looking for them and calling them. she wanted to stay in one spot for a long time because someone else saw a snipe there and she really wanted to see it and catch it. i had to move her along because she was so obsessed with finding one.
then sunday during lunch we were talking about snipe hunting and someone said they thought it was fake, and the girl from Russia spoke up and said it had to be real because someone had claw marks on her bowl and a hole where the beak went through. i had to stifle my laughter because i didn't want to blow it. i asked her if they had snipes in Russia and she told me no. she said she asked her dad about them, and he said they were real (way to go dad!).
so now she is utterly convinced that snipes are real, and she said next year she's going to catch one.
well, so long for now!
