beat the bushes
Synonym of pound the pavementSynonym of pound the pavement (“to campaign diligently; to seek something”).
Meaning
1 senses(Canada, US, idiomatic)Synonym of pound the pavement (“to campaign diligently; to seek something”).
They started beating the bushes in search of a commercially available solvent that would aid their manufacturing but wouldn't be too horribly toxic and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.
Origin
Both beat the bushes and scare up have figurative senses, referring to traversing the landBoth beat the bushes and scare up have figurative senses, referring to traversing the landscape seeking difficult-to-find things, that arose by extension from their senses referring to driving game out of the bush when hunting.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
beats the bushes, beating the bushes, beat the bushes, beaten the bushes| Base form | beat the bushes · to beat the bushes |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | beats the bushes |
| Present participle | beating the bushes |
| Past simple | beat the bushes |
| Past participle | beaten the bushes / beat the bushes |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.