dig

dig deep

to use a lot of your own money to pay for something. Church members dug deep into their pockets to pay for a new roof. The city will have to dig deep if it wants to host the next Olympics.

See also: deep

dig your heels in

to refuse to do what other people are trying to persuade you to do, especially to refuse to change your opinions or plans. We suggested it would be quicker to fly, but she dug her heels in and insisted on taking the train.

See also: heel

dig yourself into a hole (British & Australian, informal)

to do something which makes you embarrassed or causes you problems which will be difficult to solve. The government is digging itself into an even deeper hole by refusing to admit it made a mistake.

See also: hole

dig your own grave

to do something stupid that will cause problems for you in the future. He's dug his own grave really. If he'd been a bit more cooperative in the first place they might still employ him.

See also: grave

dig the dirt

to try to find out bad things about someone in order to stop other people admiring them. No effort is being spared to dig up dirt on the enemy. (often + on)

See also: dirt

dig/dip into your pocket

to use your own money to pay for something. Parents of young children have to dig deep into their pockets at Christmas-time.

See also: dip, pocket

dig/get someone out of a hole (British & Australian, informal)

to help someone who is in a difficult situation. She got me out of a hole by lending me the money for the flight back to New York. I managed to dig myself out of a hole by pretending I had only been joking. (often reflexive)

See also: hole

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dig in

to start eating, esp. with enthusiasm. Jack tossed some salt and pepper on the omelet and dug in.

dig in your heels

to refuse to change what you believe is right or what you want to happen. Be firm on important issues, but do not dig in your heels at every opportunity.

See also: heel

dig out something

to search for something. I dug out a faded picture of my parents playing on the old tennis court.

dig your own grave

to do something stupid that will hurt you later. Martinez dug his own grave when he admitted signing a false name on bank documents.

See also: grave

dig up something

to find something, esp. from storage. We dug up the old dairy records that showed how much milk each cow produced every day.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of dig something up (= to remove something from the ground, esp. with a tool)

dig up (some) dirt (on someone)

to look for and find unpleasant or embarrassing information about someone. They tried to dig up some dirt on their political enemies.

Etymology: based on the slang meaning of dirt (= negative information about a person)

See also: dirt