A fool's errand is a task that cannot be accomplished because of fate or because it is a joke. It comes mainly in two varieties: trying to find something that does not exist, or trying to accomplish an impossible task. Others who are aware of the prank will often redirect the victim to several different places.
The prank often involves the use of jargon, where the immediate meaning is not obvious. It can also depend on a new recruit's unfamiliarity with the business, such as being sent on a search for an ID10T form (pronounced I.D. Ten Tango, using the military phonetic alphabet).
In carny, a type of fool's errand is known as the key to the midway.
Read more about this topic: Snipe Hunt
Famous quotes containing the words fool and/or errand:
““O human creature, ... you are the investigator without knowledge, the magistrate without jurisdiction, and all in all, the fool of the farce.””
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“It is surprising on stepping ashore anywhere into this unbroken wilderness to see so often, at least within a few rods of the river, the marks of an axe, made by lumberers who have either camped here or driven logs past in previous springs. You will see perchance where, going on the same errand that you do, they have cut large chips from a tall white pine stump for their fire.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)