"Today's legal action is a futile exercise," Council leaders said in a joint statement.

For peace of mind, if nothing else, the futile exercise had been an absolute necessity.

"If we only write books for people writing academic papers, it would be a futile exercise," she said.

It may be a futile exercise, as even his lawyers come close to admitting.

What was the point of this futile exercise anyway?

Timing has been a largely futile exercise since the great bull market began in 1982.

That set up a power play, which at first looked like a futile exercise.

The process of sharing with words seemed such a futile exercise sometimes.

Trying to figure it out now is a futile exercise.

I am afraid the British my have good intention, but it could be a futile exercise if we did not put our house in order.