vain+pursuit
11alastor — a·las·tor also A·las·tor (ə lăsʹtər, tôr ) n. An avenging deity or spirit, the masculine personification of Nemesis, frequently evoked in Greek tragedy. [Greek alastōr, from alastos, unforgettable : a , not; see a 1 + lanthanein, lath , to… …
12Decameron, The — (1350–1352) The Decameron is the most widely read and highly acclaimed work of Giovanni BOCCACCIO. Consisting of 100 short stories or novelle told within a frame story set in Florence during the BLACK DEATH of 1348, The Decameron is famous for …
13vanity — n. 1. Emptiness, hollowness, triviality, worthlessness, futility, unrealness, unsubstantialness, falsity, vanitas vanitatum. 2. Conceit, conceitedness, egotism, self conceit, self sufficiency, petty pride, self complacency, self approbation, self …
14lead — lead1 [lēd] vt. led, leading [ME leden < OE lædan, caus. of lithan, to travel, go, akin to Ger leiten: for IE base see LOAD] 1. a) to show the way to, or direct the course of, by going before or along with; conduct; guide b) to show (the way)… …
15wild goose chase — pursuit of something which is extremely unlikely to be attained, searching in vain …
16international relations — a branch of political science dealing with the relations between nations. [1970 75] * * * Study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies and political… …
17literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …
18china — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. a translucent ceramic material, biscuit fired at a high temperature, its glaze fired at a low temperature. 2. any porcelain ware. 3. plates, cups, saucers, etc., collectively. 4. figurines made of porcelain or ceramic material …
19China — /chuy neuh/, n. 1. People s Republic of, a country in E Asia. 1,221,591,778; 3,691,502 sq. mi. (9,560,990 sq. km). Cap.: Beijing. 2. Republic of. Also called Nationalist China. a republic consisting mainly of the island of Taiwan off the SE coast …
20France — /frans, frahns/; Fr. /frddahonns/, n. 1. Anatole /ann nann tawl /, (Jacques Anatole Thibault), 1844 1924, French novelist and essayist: Nobel prize 1921. 2. a republic in W Europe. 58,470,421; 212,736 sq. mi. (550,985 sq. km). Cap.: Paris. 3.… …
