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When I look up the phrase 無駄足だった, I see it translated as "It was a Wild goose
chase." I found this bizarre, since it seems like it would mean "It was a
useless foot/leg." is this some sort of figure of speech that means the same
or something similar to "wild goose chase" or am I missing something? Thanks
for any help.
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2014-12-01T20:11:16.117
19735
2014-12-03T20:16:49.187
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question
kanji set-phrases idioms past
ムダ足だった == useless leg?
I believe [無駄足]{むだあし} is derived from [無駄足]{むだあし}を[運]{はこ}ぶ ("move one's feet
in vain"), which is one of a series of counterintuitive idioms Japanese
vocabulary has.

  * **[小腹]{こばら}が[減]{へ}る** "little stomach get empty"  
actually describing "be a little hungry" (cf. [腹]{はら}が[減]{へ}る "be hungry")

  * **[大]{おお}ぼらを[吹]{ふ}く** "blow on a big conch"  
actually, "blow on a conch loudly" or "tell a tall story" (cf. ほらを[吹]{ふ}く
"talk big")  
eventually [大]{おお}ぼら itself stands for "tall story".

  * **[横車]{よこぐるま}を[押]{お}す** "push a side cart"  
actually, "push cart from the side" or "ram through"  
eventually [横車]{よこぐるま}, "unreasonable demand".

  * **[後ろ]{うしろ}[髪]{がみ}を[引]{ひ}かれる** "be pulled by the rear hair"  
actually, "be pulled by the hair from behind" or "too sorry to leave"

  * **[無駄骨]{むだぼね}を[折]{お}る** "break a useless bone"  
actually, "break a bone in vain" or "make vain efforts" (cf. [骨]{ほね}を[折]{お}る
"make efforts")  
eventually [無駄骨]{むだぼね}, "vain efforts".
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2014-12-01T22:30:17.123
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2014-12-03T20:16:49.187
2014-12-03T20:16:49.187
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answer