pay dirt, hit

Idioms and Phrases

Also, strike pay dirt . Make a valuable discovery or large profit, as in We've been researching the source of that quotation for a month and we finally hit pay dirt in the Library of Congress . This idiom, from the mid-1800s, refers to a miner's finding gold or other precious metals while sifting soil. By the late 1800s it had been transferred to other lucrative discoveries.

Example Sentences

Getting all huffy and talking about deportation for cooking up lies is the best proof you could ask for that we hit pay dirt.

From Project Gutenberg

I left my number in about ten of the spots he might turn up, and around six o'clock one of them hit pay dirt.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accomplish
• connect
• gain
• get
• notch
• pull off
• rack up
• reach
• win