worm something out of someone
Meaning: To get information from someone gradually and persistently.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “It took all evening, but I finally wormed the name of her new boyfriend out of her.”
Category: Animals
Origin: Recorded from the early 1700s: a worm works its way through tight places by patient twisting, just as a persistent questioner extracts a secret bit by bit.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: tirer les vers du nez — literally: to pull worms from the nose
More idioms — Animals
- bare one's teeth — To show hostility and a readiness to fight.
- have a memory like an elephant — To remember things, especially slights, for a very long time.
- something fishy is going on — Something suspicious is happening.
- be full of beans — To be lively and full of energy.
- work oneself into a lather — To become very agitated, anxious or angry.
- like a bear with a sore head — In a very bad, irritable mood.
More English idioms
- lie low — To stay out of sight and avoid attention.
- eat one's words — To admit that something one said was wrong.
- have a big head — To be conceited; to think too highly of oneself.
- get lucky — To succeed in having a sexual encounter.
- shout it from the rooftops — To tell everyone about something, openly and loudly.
- have itchy feet — To feel a restless urge to travel or move on.
From our proverbs
- The master's eye makes the horse fat. — A leader's direct attention and oversight ensures prosperity and proper care of what they…
- The master's eye does more work than his hands. — Vigilant oversight and attention accomplish more than physical labor alone.
- Every "may be" hath a "may not be." — Uncertainty cuts both ways—possibility implies its opposite, so optimism requires acknowl…