ferret out
to intensively search for something
TRANSLATION
ferret out = aufspüren ferret (biol.) = das Frettchen --- GOOGLE INDEX ferret out: approximately 1,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
According to sources close to Lord Justice Leveson, he will be looking at the extent to which newspapers used private detectives instead of journalists to FERRET OUT information.
(BBC News)
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Lie Detector Tests to FERRET OUT Intel Media Leaks
(newser.com)
(BBC News)
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Lie Detector Tests to FERRET OUT Intel Media Leaks
(newser.com)
Did you
know?
ferret out
phrasal verb
- to find out a piece of information or find someone or something, after looking in many places or asking many questions
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English has many animal names that are used as nouns to compare someone to a particular animal characteristic such as:
- be a snake in the grass (a sneaky and despised person)
- be a leech (to attach oneself to someone else in order to get something from them)
- be a skunk (someone regarded as obnoxious or really awful)
Even more animals are used as verbs or in phrases. For instance, one can pig out (eat too much), horse around (be playful), badger another person (harass), buffalo someone (intimidate), outfox (be smarter), hound (to chase someone or refuse to leave them alone), squirrel something away (save something), rat on someone (to betray someone by giving out information), chicken out (elect not to do something out of fear), clam up (refuse to talk), pony up (pay for something) or monkey around (play around, act silly).
To "ferret out" falls into this latter category. The ferret belongs to the weasel family and is meanwhile widely domesticated. With their long, lean build, and inquisitive nature, they are very well equipped for getting down holes and chasing rodents, rabbits and moles out of their burrows. Thus in a figurative sense to ferret something out means to acquire information about someone or something by searching around. Think of it as sniffing around with your nose like a ferret on the hunt.
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SYNONYMS
(as in looking for information)
dig for, probe for, scour, unearth, rummage around, pry into, hunt for, delve into
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Some companies are using social media networks to ferret out information on job applicants."
phrasal verb
- to find out a piece of information or find someone or something, after looking in many places or asking many questions
---
English has many animal names that are used as nouns to compare someone to a particular animal characteristic such as:
- be a snake in the grass (a sneaky and despised person)
- be a leech (to attach oneself to someone else in order to get something from them)
- be a skunk (someone regarded as obnoxious or really awful)
Even more animals are used as verbs or in phrases. For instance, one can pig out (eat too much), horse around (be playful), badger another person (harass), buffalo someone (intimidate), outfox (be smarter), hound (to chase someone or refuse to leave them alone), squirrel something away (save something), rat on someone (to betray someone by giving out information), chicken out (elect not to do something out of fear), clam up (refuse to talk), pony up (pay for something) or monkey around (play around, act silly).
To "ferret out" falls into this latter category. The ferret belongs to the weasel family and is meanwhile widely domesticated. With their long, lean build, and inquisitive nature, they are very well equipped for getting down holes and chasing rodents, rabbits and moles out of their burrows. Thus in a figurative sense to ferret something out means to acquire information about someone or something by searching around. Think of it as sniffing around with your nose like a ferret on the hunt.
---
SYNONYMS
(as in looking for information)
dig for, probe for, scour, unearth, rummage around, pry into, hunt for, delve into
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Some companies are using social media networks to ferret out information on job applicants."
