needle in a haystack

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

While picking a big winner is like finding a proverbial needle in a haystack, it’s much easier than in 1926.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Dr Harry Bennett, an expert in maritime history, said the dive team had found "the underwater archaeological equivalent of a needle in a haystack".

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2025

“A needle in a haystack would be easier to find than a ring in this house,” he told the couple.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 10, 2024

“It’s a needle in a haystack you need to be really lucky to find.”

From Science Magazine • Jun. 19, 2024

But I think if your dreams are small they can get lost, like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar