Successor to "like looking for a needle in a haystack"

[Laurence Horn]

On Mar 15, 2014, at 1:55 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> Capt. D. K. Sharma, a spokesman for the Indian Navy, refused on
> Friday to offer an estimate of long the search for Malaysia Airlines
> flight 370 might take.  "How can you ask such a question? This is
> like looking for a needle in that vast expanse of sea."

You'd prefer "like looking for a needlefish in that vast expanse of sea" perhaps?
>
> NYTimes, Sat. March 15, "Satellite Firm Says Its Data Could Offer
> Location of Missing Flight," page A6, col. 5-6 (New England edition).
>
> Joel
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org