fish out

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to find or extract (something)

   to fish keys out of a pocket

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fish out Idioms  

1. Also, fish up . Discover and retrieve something from a pile or store. For example, She finally fished out the right letter from the files , or He fished up a scandal for the paper to run in the early edition . This usage likens pulling fish from the sea to finding something. [Mid-1600s]

2. Deplete the fish in a body of water by fishing, as in This stream is completely fished out .

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Example Sentences

Back then, workers would drag the fish out with nets, plop them into a trash can, and wheel the trash can into the store, where the fish would be deposited into bubbling, iridescent fish tanks for customers to pick and choose from.

From Los Angeles Times

“They’re both fish out of water. We get to see how they navigate that individually and together, which makes for a lot of awkwardness and rich comedy moments.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I started doing drag in Texas and I intended to be the weirdo. That was what I enjoyed doing and I found myself like a fish out of water in Texas,” said Dubois, a popular Seattle drag entertainer.

From Seattle Times

Rescue efforts began across the state, with some biologists for the state and tribes scooping out-migrating juvenile fish out of pools that became disconnected from the streams.

From Seattle Times

It ended with the dancers extending a black tarp across the floor, covering it with a white sheet, then covering themselves in blue paint and rolling across the canvas — at once fish out of water and Action painters.

From New York Times

Related Words

• discover
• examine
• scrutinize
• snoop