white whale
US /waɪt weɪl/
UK /waɪt weɪl/

1.
ballena blanca, objetivo inalcanzable
a goal or object that is extremely difficult to find or achieve
:
•
Finding a cure for cancer has been the white whale of medical research.
Encontrar una cura para el cáncer ha sido la ballena blanca de la investigación médica.
•
For many archaeologists, discovering the lost city of Atlantis is their ultimate white whale.
Para muchos arqueólogos, descubrir la ciudad perdida de la Atlántida es su ballena blanca definitiva.