Was this page helpful to you? Please, 
VA.net member? Sign in.
Conditions for Charlottesville, VA, US
|
52°F |
0 mph N | 0.1 mi
Your local forecast:
Sunrise / Sunset:
6:31 am / 6:16 pm
| Thu | Fri |
|
|
| 67°F/54°F | 58°F/53°F |
6:31 am / 6:16 pm
data courtesy of Weather.com
AP - The number of newly laid-off workers requesting unemployment benefits fell last week, the latest sign the employment picture is slowly brightening.
Other Stories...
Copyright (c) 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
will-o'-the-wisp
\will-uh-thuh-WISP\
noun
a light that appears at night over marshy ground
a misleading or elusive goal or hope
Example Sentence
Though her friends think she's chasing a will-o'-the-wisp, Alexis is determined to quit her job and follow her dream of becoming a pop music star. The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as "Ignis Fatuus," which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name "will-o'-the-wisp" was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
\will-uh-thuh-WISP\
noun
a light that appears at night over marshy ground
a misleading or elusive goal or hope
Example Sentence
Though her friends think she's chasing a will-o'-the-wisp, Alexis is determined to quit her job and follow her dream of becoming a pop music star. The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as "Ignis Fatuus," which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name "will-o'-the-wisp" was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
powered by Merriam-Webster Online
It is in men as in soils where sometimes there is a vein
of gold which the owner knows not of.
Swift (1667-1745) English Author
Swift (1667-1745) English Author