Reader question: This – Was Iraq a fool's errand? – is a headline. What does "fool's errand" mean? Is it a set phrase?
My comments: An errand is a journey one takes in order to do something for someone. It's a usually a short trip for some light task. For example, your teacher may ask you to do an errand for him. He wants you to go back to his office and fetch some chalk for him. He'd forgotten to bring it with him to class.
That's probably a poor example but then forgetful teachers are nothing to be ashamed of. Teachers are human. All of them, I suppose, including the one who fled the classroom first during the earthquake in Sichuan last month, leaving his class behind.
Anyways, you get the picture of what an errand is.
A fool's errand?
That means it's a job only a fool will take.
Joking, but this lighthearted interpretation is more or less correct in essence. "A fool's errand" refers to a fruitless journey. If someone is sent on a fool's errand, it means they are dispatched to do a job for no good reason, or to accomplish a task at which they're not going to succeed.
In other words, it's an impossible mission – all the good work will be in vain.
"Was Iraq a fool's errand?"
From such a headline, we may safely infer that the author questions whether the war on Iraq would accomplish its goals, whatever those were. Probably not.
【Iraq a fool's errand?】相关文章:
最新
2020-09-15
2020-08-28
2020-08-21
2020-08-19
2020-08-14
2020-08-12