FrenchChercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin
Meaning: To search for something you have almost no chance of finding, because the thing is tiny and the place holding it is vast.
Literally: To look for a needle in a bundle of hay
Example: “Retrouver ma boucle d'oreille sur la plage, c'est chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin.” — Finding my earring on the beach is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
English equivalent: To look for a needle in a haystack
Equivalents in other languages
English: Look for a needle in a haystack
Spanish: Buscar una aguja en un pajar Literally: To look for a needle in a haystack
German: Eine Nadel im Heuhaufen suchen Literally: To search for a needle in the haystack
Origin: Botte here is a bundle, not a boot. It is the same word English borrowed as the bottle of hay that older English versions of this expression used, so the French wording preserves the original image while the English one drifted to haystack.
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