run to earth

Idioms  

1. Also, run to ground. Track down, find, as in Somehow we have to run those relatives of hers to earth, or It won't be easy, but I'm sure we can run that jewelry to ground. This expression comes from hunting, where hounds run their quarry to the earth or ground, that is, to their lair. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

Once the criminals were run to earth, Mr. District Attorney would prosecute them to the full extent of the law; there were few defense-attorney heroes in the old days.

From Time Magazine Archive

Foote was run to earth just once, fortunately for him in neutral Switzerland.

From Time Magazine Archive

And after a spree of notoriety, Ed Trafton is run to earth and locked away in Leavenworth.

From Time Magazine Archive

Writes Foote: "The only excitement a spy is likely to have is his last, when he is finally run to earth."

From Time Magazine Archive

“I would have stood my ground when the chance was offered. Now we have let ourselves be run to earth like foxes.”

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander