pay dirt, hit



pay dirt, hit

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.
See also: hit, pay

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Boele-Dutch
Tomica-Croatian
Milorad-Serbian, Croatian
TobiaszTAW-byahshPolish
Berahthraban-Ancient Germanic
Lisettelee-ZET (French)French, English