In this weekly post, we bring more useful content from the Macmillan Dictionary to English language learners. In this series of language tips we look at how metaphor is used to express some common concepts in English. This week’s tip looks at metaphors used to talk about discovering something:
Discovering things such as facts and information is like finding them by digging or searching in the ground.
Let me know if you dig up anything about him.
I unearthed some useful facts and figures.
The facts only came to light after a long investigation.
We left no stone unturned in our search for the truth.
The book is a mine/goldmine of information.
I think that this will prove a rich seam to mine for your research.
It took me a long time to find it, but I finally struck gold/oil.
You need to read a lot more: you’ve only just begun to scratch the surface.
You need to put in a lot of spadework.
The journalists were grubbing around for something to print.
They raked up a lot of scandals.
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