A needle in a haystack

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Meaning

A person or thing that is extremely difficult, or practically impossible, to find because it is hidden within a much larger search area or mass of similar material.

Origin

The phrase belongs to a much older proverbial comparison between a tiny sewing needle and an overwhelmingly large place to search. In a 1532 letter, Thomas More wrote that seeking one line in all of Saint Augustine's books would be like looking for 'a needle in a meadow.' English also used hay-based versions before the modern haystack wording became standard. More's text documents the underlying image, not the exact modern phrase, and there is no evidence that he or any other known writer coined it.

Research Sources

  1. a needle in a haystack Cambridge University Press
  2. The English Correspondence of Sir Thomas More Thomas More Studies
  3. Needle in a haystack Phrase Finder

Variants

  • Needle in a haystack
  • Like looking for a needle in a haystack
  • Looking for a needle in a haystack
  • Finding a needle in a haystack

Usage Examples

  • Without a serial number, finding the stolen laptop among thousands of listings was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
  • The archivist found the unsigned letter, but only after a needle-in-a-haystack search through forty boxes.
  • Identifying one faulty sensor in that unlabelled warehouse could be a needle in a haystack.

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