dry hole

dry hole (plural dry holes)

1. (engineering) A hole drilled into the ground for oil or gas exploration which fails to yield enough oil or gas to justify the establishment of a well.
2. (figurative) Something that brings no success or profit; a dead loss.
   • 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:

     Ultrasound as a treatment for degenerative arthritis was in its infancy. It might eventually turn out to be as effective as the Salk vaccine, or as bogus as the science of phrenology. Either way, it didn't make sense right now. The chances were a thousand to one that it was a dry hole.

• “dry hole”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.