waste of effort; vain effort; labor in vain
Describes a situation where hard work yields no reward or result. Often used in set phrases like 骨折り損のくたびれ儲け.
I spent hours preparing the materials, but they weren't used in the meeting. It was truly a waste of effort.
骨折り損のくたびれ儲けにならないように、事前にしっかり計画を立てよう。
Let's plan carefully in advance so it doesn't turn into a lot of work for nothing.