haystack
be like looking for a needle in a haystack
To be similar to searching for something that is very difficult to locate, especially something small and/or something hidden among similar things. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
See also: haystack, like, look, needle
be like trying to find a needle in a haystack
To be similar to searching for something that is very difficult to locate, especially something small and/or something hidden among similar things. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
See also: find, haystack, like, needle, trying
like looking for a needle in a haystack
Similar to searching for something that is very difficult to locate, especially something small and/or something hidden among similar things. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
See also: haystack, like, look, needle
needle in a haystack
Something that is very difficult to locate. Trying to find my contact lens on the floor was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
See also: haystack, needle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
like looking for a needle in a haystack
Fig. engaged in a hopeless search. Trying to find a white glove in the snow is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I tried to find my lost contact lens on the beach, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
See also: haystack, like, look, needle
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
needle in a haystack
An item that is very hard or impossible to locate, as in Looking for that screw in Dean's workshop amounts to looking for a needle in a haystack. Originating in the early 1500s, with meadow instead of haystack, this metaphor exists in many other languages as well.
See also: haystack, needle
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
like looking for a needle in a haystack
If trying to find something is like looking for a needle in a haystack, it is extremely difficult or impossible. She was told by police that searching for the dog would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Note: This expression is very variable. It soon became clear that we were looking for a needle in a haystack. It's very much a needle in a haystack situation that we're dealing with.
See also: haystack, like, look, needle
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
a needle in a haystack
something that is almost impossible to find because it is concealed by so many other similar things. 2002 New York Times Magazine Terrorists don't fit a consistent profile: you're looking for a needle in a haystack, but the color and shape of the needle keep changing.
See also: haystack, needle
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
like looking for/trying to find a ˌneedle in a ˈhaystack
very difficult to find: How can we ever find the quotation if you don’t even know what part of the book it comes from? It’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.See also: find, haystack, like, look, needle, trying
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
needle in a haystack, (like finding) a
An item that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find. This term dates from the sixteenth century, although “haystack” at first appeared as “meadow” (in Sir Thomas More’s Works, 1532), “bottle of hay” (Robert Greene, 1592), or “load of hay” (John Taylor, 1619). The same metaphor exists in numerous languages.
See also: needle
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be like looking for a needle in a haystack
- be like trying to find a needle in a haystack
- like looking for a needle in a haystack
- like looking for/trying to find a needle in a haystack
- searching
- relate (something) to (something)
- in common
- in common (with someone or something)
- in common with somebody/something
- urtext