proverb · Words worth keeping
Like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The phrase makes a search resemble finding a needle in a haystack. It emphasises a small target hidden among a large amount of material.
What the words are saying
The contrast of scale makes the difficulty vivid. A useful application can ask how to narrow the search rather than call it impossible. The image supplies no measured odds, and a clear method or better information may change the task considerably.
Everyday example
A researcher narrows a large collection by topic before looking for one particular passage.
When to use it
Use it to describe search difficulty while considering ways to narrow the task.
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What it does not mean
The comparison establishes neither impossibility nor a probability.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 421; PDF page 62
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.