a needle in a haystack

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.

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

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
See also:
  • needle in a haystack
  • needle in a haystack, (like finding) a
  • trying
  • searching
  • like looking for a needle in a haystack
  • like looking for/trying to find a needle in a haystack
  • be like looking for a needle in a haystack
  • be like trying to find a needle in a haystack
  • haystack
  • lance through
References in classic literature
The wind was fair but fitful, and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack to raise that tiny boat out of the blue immensity.
The Sea Wolf
Have you ever heard someone say, "That's as hard as finding a needle in a haystack?" That saying means that whatever it is, it is really hard to do.
The needle in the haystack maze
Everyone knows that "looking for a needle in a haystack" is tough work.
NOVEMBER CONFERENCE TACKLES TEXT RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS