will-o'-the-wisp
Americannoun
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Also called: friar's lantern. ignis fatuus. jack-o'-lantern. a pale flame or phosphorescence sometimes seen over marshy ground at night. It is believed to be due to the spontaneous combustion of methane or other hydrocarbons originating from decomposing organic matter
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a person or thing that is elusive or allures and misleads
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of will-o'-the-wisp
1600–10; originally Will (i.e., William) with the wisp; see wisp
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More myths would have surrounded the eerie blue glow of will-o'-the-wisp – methane from peat beds burning over the top of the marshes.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
In fairness to Itzkoff, it’s this very will-o’-the-wisp quality that makes Williams a tricky man to pin down.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2018
The idea of parliamentary elections, in principle scheduled for September, at this point is only a will-o’-the-wisp.
From Washington Times ● May 7, 2018
The eccentric Ingle would flash "The Bomber's" will-o'-the-wisp routine in so-called exhibitions held amid smoke-filled Sheffield social clubs that amounted to little more than Graham tormenting have-a-go drunks with his hands held behind his back.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2013
“What did I do, Jane? I transformed myself into a will-o’-the-wisp.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
