will-o-the-wisp
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will-o'-the-wisp
(ˈwɪl ə ðəˈwɪsp)
n. 2. anything that deludes or misleads by luring on; an elusive thing or person.
[1600–10; orig. Will (i.e., William) with the wisp]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature
The first is the taste, Which is meager and hollow, but crisp: Like a coat that is rather too tight in the waist, With a flavor of
Will-o-the-wisp.
She said: "The polecat is a
will-o-the-wisp, rarely seen and even more rarely photographed.
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