ferret out
Uncover and bring to light by searching, as in Sandy was a superb reporter, tireless in ferreting out whatever facts were needed for her story. This expression alludes to hunting with ferrets, weasel-like animals formerly used to drive rabbits out of their burrows. [c. 1600]
Words Nearby ferret out
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use ferret out in a sentence
What I saw was a careful and ingenious reporter ferret out a fraud with care.
Pressuring Journalists Won’t Protect Transgender People | James Kirchick | January 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat alone provides a powerful incentive for civil society to try to ferret out the numbers.
U.S. Drone Program Needs to Be Accompanied by Hard Facts on Civilian Deaths | Daniel Klaidman | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTLots of people at SAC work extremely hard to ferret out good investing ideas.
The Insider-Trading Cloud Hanging Over SAC Capital’s Steven A. Cohen | Daniel Gross | November 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe investigation, he said, would ferret out government responsibility for the tragedy.
Issa Committee Called for Justice Department Scalp | Daniel Klaidman | June 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTEven foreign journalists inside the city have struggled to ferret out information.
A soldier is not a conjurer that he should be handed over a fully laden ship and told to ferret out a fuse key.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 | Ian HamiltonWe cannot even begin to ferret out and discuss all the psychological problems that are concealed behind these bland tables.
Language | Edward SapirPositively the only way to detect such fictitious allowances for damages, is to ferret out each case by itself.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations | William Z. RipleyLeaving detachments to ferret out prisoners from the deeper dug-outs, the French made for the second line.
The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 4 (of 10) | James Edward ParrottMr. Bassett said that his colleague could not always adhere to the principle that it was his duty to ferret out every error.
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