beat the bushes (for someone or something)
(redirected from beat the bush)beat the bushes (for someone or something)
To search for someone or something exhaustively and at great length. I've been beating the bushes for a bigger apartment, but there's nothing out there I can afford!
beat the bushes for
Look everywhere for something or someone, as in I've been beating the bushes for a substitute but haven't had any luck. This term originally alluded to hunting, when beaters were hired to flush birds out of the brush. [1400s] Also see beat around the bush.
beat the bushes
search thoroughly. North American informalThis expression originates from the way in which hunters walk through undergrowth wielding long sticks which are used to force birds or animals out into the open where they can be shot or netted.
beat the ˈbushes
(especially American English) try very hard to find, obtain or achieve something: Telephone companies are beating the bushes for new customers.beat the bushes
To make an exhaustive search.