I believe there is a two-word phrase for something that is always just out of reach for you and which you cannot ever seem to get. (It is not Tantalus or anything having to do with Tantalus, please).
It’s like a girl you like and want to date, and it almost happens a bunch of times but never materializes. You’d say, “She’s my __ __.”
I keep thinking dark horse, but that’s not it. Any help?
I can't think of a way to express that without borrowing from literature, so I would probably use 'Holy Grail'. When referring to something other than a girl, it'd probably be 'White Whale'.
The one-word adjective is elusive, meaning "difficult to find, catch, or achieve," as in "she's my elusive dream-girl".
There are several possible two-word phrases. But if you kept thinking about dark horse, then maybe wild-goose chase is what you're looking for.
From the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
wild–goose chase noun
a complicated or lengthy and usually fruitless pursuit or search
This does not quite answer your question (because it is not two words), but the phrase that comes to mind is "so close yet so far away," "so close but so far away," or some other very similar variation of that phrase.
You might be thinking of the brass ring. The brass ring is originally a reward sought by some carrousel riders, who would try to grab it as they pass by the dispenser. The dispenser also held iron rings, so luck and timing played a big part in the chance of success.
You can find the description in multiple places, including here.
The brass ring is considered elusive, hard to get, a challenge to obtain, and seekers of the brass ring may often end up with the iron ring instead. As a consolation, the iron ring is as worthless as grabbing nothing, by the way.
The brass ring is now a metaphor for a goal that provides ultimate fulfillment in an endeavor and is only achievable by a few.
How about impossible dream ?
The song The Quest by Mitch Leigh contains the phrase, though I don't know if he coined it. This azlyrics site has the words as sung by Elvis Presley.
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear the unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not goTo write the unwritable wrong [sic]
To be better far than you are
To try when your arms are too weary
The reach the unreachable starThis is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless,
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly causeAnd I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will be peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my restAnd the world would be better for this
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
A Math geek would tell you to say
She is my asymptotic fantasy.
Concerning a future career that you would never attain:
Becoming another Bill Gates or Steve Jobs will be my asymptotic failure.
Concerning the goals of a corp:
We are always trying to reach beyond ourselves. We place goals before us that are barely within our reach. Our goal of becoming the largest corporation in the world is our asymptotic goal.
Also:
Perfection is an asymptotic goal.
From dictionary:
as·ymp·tote
n. A line whose distance to a given curve tends to zero. An asymptote may or may not intersect its associated curve.
[Ultimately from Greek asumpttos, not intersecting : a-, not; see a-1 + sumpttos, intersecting (from sumpiptein, sumpt-, to converge : sun-, syn- + piptein, to fall; see pet- in Indo-European roots).]
asymp·totic (-ttk), asymp·toti·cal adj.
asymp·toti·cal·ly adv.
Ref:Article in Wikipedia.
You can say,
She's my mission impossible.
Unicorn! Unicorn is the answer. Mythological creature said to be beautiful and majestic, strongly linked to desire.
As a single word, "she's my unobtainable muse"
