Haystack Quotes & Sayings

It would hardly benefit me to hold anything back unnecessarily, when I know what I'm asking. For you to find a needle in
God, not even a haystack. A needle in a tower full of other needles. — Cassandra Clare

Do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel.
Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain. — Gautama Buddha

I've been collecting photos for a long time, I mean since I started making money. But what you have had to go through to find a good photo is like a needle in the haystack sometimes. You'll drive from one gallery to the next gallery to the next gallery. It's not an easy process. It's a very ancient model that just hasn't caught up with the times. — Guy Oseary

If he [Thomas Edison] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to be, but would proceed at once with the feverish diligence of a bee, to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. ... Just a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety percent of his labor. — Nikola Tesla

Instead of finding the needle in the haystack, we're making the haystack bigger, — Jesselyn Radack

As Nassim Taleb, the author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, writes, "Big data may mean more information, but it also means more false information." And even when the information is not false, the problem is "that the needle comes in an increasingly larger haystack. — Arianna Huffington

But first, the news: The House of Commons was sealed off today after police chased an escaped lunatic through the front door during Prime Minister's question time. A spokesman at Scotland Yard said it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. — Ronnie Barker

When you're looking for a needle in a haystack, don't afraid to burn the haystack to save yourself from spending half your life picking through strands of straw. — A.J. Darkholme

When Eleanor's arm touched his he felt his hands grow cold with deadly fear lest he should lose the shadow brush with which his imagination was painting wonders of her. He watched her from the corners of his eyes as ever he did when he walked with her
she was a feast and a folly and he wished it had been his destiny to sit forever on a haystack and see life through her green eyes. — F Scott Fitzgerald

Recruiting is hard. It's just finding the needles in the haystack. You can't know enough in a one-hour interview. — Steve Jobs

It only takes one match to ignite a haystack, or one remark to fire a mind. — Lawrence Durrell

The way to find a needle in a haystack is to sit down. — Beryl Markham

Protecting national security amounts to looking for needles in a haystack. The work becomes more difficult if the haystack is larger. Restricting immigration generally, and illegal immigration in particular, limits growth in the haystack, and supports protection of national security. — Jan C. Ting

Oh, you mean they're just people getting away early for the holidays to avoid the Rush?" said Maladict. "Sorry, I got confused. It must be that woman carrying a whole haystack we just passed. — Terry Pratchett

Being an app developer isn't at all like working at Apple. There is this huge haystack of apps, and even a very shiny needle can get lost in that haystack. — Bill Atkinson

Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. — Mary Oliver

Hope is like a needle in a haystack. No matter how small, and even if you can't find it, it's there. It may just take another set of eyes. — Mark Cortes

Use the word 'ya'll' and before you knew it, you'd find yourself in a haystack french-kissing an underage goat — David Sedaris

What I'm thinking is: here I am, lying under a haystack ... The tiny little place I occupy is so small in relation to the rest of space where I am not and where it's none of my business; and the amount of time which I'll succeed in living is so insignificant by comparison with the eternity where I haven't been and never will be ... And yet in this atom, in this mathematical point, the blood circulates, the brain works and even desires something as well .. What sheer ugliness! What sheer nonsense! — Ivan Turgenev

Finding my dream job was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was a crazy party in which every failed path I followed was like an attendee required to take away a single straw of hay as they departed, one by one. It took a while, and I eventually found that needle, but I couldn't have done it without failing over and over. — Tyler Oakley

Ali and the woman whose baby crawled out on the roof


A woman comes to Ali. My baby has crawled out on the roof near

the water drain, where I cannot go. He won't listen to me. I talk, but he doesn't understand

language. I make gestures. I show him my breast, but he turns away. What can I do?

Take another baby his age up to the roof. The woman does, and the child sees his friend and

crawls away from the edge. The prophets are human for this reason, that we may see them

and delight in their friendly presence, and crawl away from the downspout. Muhammad calls himself

a man like you. Likeness is a great drawing force. Those of mean dispositions learn hatred

from each other, and they try to draw others in. Anyone whose haystack has burned

does not enjoy seeing someone else's candle lit. — Jalaluddin Rumi

It's a funny thing about looking for things. If you hunt for a needle in a haystack you don't find it. If you don't give a darn whether you ever see the needle or not it runs into you the first time you lean against the stack. — P.G. Wodehouse

I'm kinda like a needle in a haystack right now cause I haven't blown up yet ... — SonReal

It's like looking for a needle that no one ever lost in a haystack that never was - — Charles Fort

Finding happiness should not be seen as finding a needle in a haystack. Happiness is within. Each day is a blessing that brings an abundance of happiness. Therefore, finding happiness should be like finding a gift in a stack of gifts. — Steve Maraboli

The fact is, we're looking for a very small number of very evil needles in a very large haystack, which is the city of London. — Charles Clarke

Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack of compliments, and their passions are fundamentalist. — Andrew O'Hagan

He and Marten may be needles in a haystack, but straw by straw the hay is being taken away. It's only a matter of time, hours at most, before the floor is bare and the needles and right there in front of us. — Allan Folsom

Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack! — John C. Bogle

I know what I'm asking. For you to find a needle in - God, not even a haystack. A needle in a tower of other needles."
"Plunge your hand in a tower of needles," said Magnus, "and you are likely to cut yourself badly. Are you sure this is what you want? — Cassandra Clare

For you to find a needle in-God, not even in a haystack. A needle in a tower full of other needles.'
'Plunge your hand into a tower of needles,' said Magnus, 'and you are likely to cut yourself badly. — Cassandra Clare

Love is the only war worth dying for. But every time I say 'please, come back', I feel like I'm trying to find a dirty needle into a haystack. — Andrea Gibson

I am familiar with the phrase, 'needle in a haystack' and I think I understand its meaning more than I wish to. — David Sadler

I think; here I lie under a haystack ... The tiny space I occupy is so infinitely small in comparison with the rest of space, in which I am not, and which has nothing to do with me; and the period of time in which it is my lot to live is so petty beside the eternity in which I have not been, and shall not be ... And in this atom, this mathematical point, the blood is circulating, the brain is working and wanting something ... Isn't it loathsome? Isn't it petty? — Ivan Turgenev

Ozil could find the needle in a haystack with his sense of smell. — Ray Hudson

I think what we've had in the past is the government has said, "Well, we need to collect the whole haystack." And the haystack is Americans' privacy. Every Americans' privacy. We have to give up all of our privacy. — Rand Paul

The Indians are finding the gaps like a pin in a haystack. — Navjot Singh Sidhu

Whereas I think: I'm lying here in a haystack ... The tiny space I occupy is so infinitesimal in comparison with the rest of space, which I don't occupy and which has no relation to me. And the period of time in which I'm fated to live is so insignificant beside the eternity in which I haven't existed and won't exist ... And yet in this atom, this mathematical point, blood is circulating, a brain is working, desiring something ... What chaos! What a farce! — Ivan Turgenev

Most people stop looking when they find the proverbial needle in the haystack. I would continue looking to see if there were other needles. — Albert Einstein

Problem is, finding a killer in the woods is a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack. — Iain Rob Wright

The main trend with the theme episodes is that anywhere there is a misconception about the way the physical world works, we're finding fertile material. Whether it's in a phrase like "going over like a lead balloon" or "a needle in a haystack," or tackling movie myths or even a genre, like MacGyver or James Bond, we're finding that all these things can lead to people believing the world works in a certain way. It might not be correct, but we can test out if it's true. — Adam Savage

Let's make the haystack smaller. Let's say for a while, until we can figure out who's coming, who's going, and who's overstayed their visa, let's have extra scrutiny and figure out what's going on, because there's a whole segment of the world that is intent on sending people here to attack us. — Rand Paul

Oh, as Dean says, nobody is free - never, except just for a few brief moments now and then, when the flash comes, or when as on my haystack night, the soul slips over into eternity for a little space. All the rest of our years we are slaves to something - traditions - conventions - ambitions - relations. — L.M. Montgomery

I am a haystack in a needle of time. — Bryant McGill

The primary role of the music industry is to have artists be heard above the rest. It's a big needle in a haystack problem. The Internet has the service and tools to find the needle in a haystack. — Ali Partovi

The digital transformation scorecard allows you to focus on the most important things. Without scorecards, it will become like searching for a needle in the haystack. — Pearl Zhu

How do you find a buried city in a vast landscape? Finding it randomly would be the equivalent of locating a needle in a haystack, blindfolded, wearing baseball mitts. — Sarah Parcak

No matter what anyone says, suicide takes guts. It's for heroes and martyrs, truly vainglorious men. Archie was none of these. He was a man whose significance in the Greater Scheme of Things could be figured along familiar ratios:
Pebble : Beach
Raindrop : Ocean
Needle : Haystack — Zadie Smith

The only thing he was sorry for was slamming the door and perhaps raising his voice to the woman who'd been like a mother to him since the passing of his parents. Perhaps she hadn't really deserved his reaction, but he was, justifiably, weary of their meddling and hearing about his father's will. Apparently no suitable maiden was going to appear on his doorstep. He seemed to be looking for a needle in a haystack. — Lisa M. Prysock

He who must search a haystack for a needle is likely to end up with the attitude that the needle is not worth the search. — Peter Jackson

I would imagine being tied up and put in a haystack while someone put the dry, stale straw ablaze. I would picture it perfectly while rocking on my hand. The daydream was about struggling to get free while the fire burned hotter and closer. I am not sure if I came when the fire reached me or after I had imagined escaping it. But I came. I orgasmed on my hand to the dream of fire. — Dorothy Allison

This is needle-in-haystack shit. And the haystack is made of needles. On a needle planet. — Larissa Ione

I think we've made the collection haystack so big, no one's ever getting through the haystack to find the needle. What we really need to do is isolate the haystack into a group of suspicious people and spend enormous resources looking at suspicious people, people who we have probable cause. — Rand Paul

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack full of vipers. — Samuel Beckett

One of the Internet's strengths is its ability to help consumers find the right needle in a digital haystack of data. — Jared Sandberg

But I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to find her that way. She was not a needle. This was not a haystack. We were people, and people had ways of finding each other. — David Levithan

It'd be like looking for a needle in a burning haystack.'
'Oh, I've done that,' Mark said airily. 'It's a game we used to play, after we got rid of all our livestock and didn't need our hay no more. You throw a match into the haystack, give the fire a three-second head start, and begin looking. You can find the needle every time if you work quick — Margaret Peterson Haddix

Suppose you fell over with this fish. Is there anything you could do? Sure. Pray. It'd be like falling out of an airplane without a parachute and hoping you'll land in a haystack. The only thing that'd save you would be God, and since He pushed you overboard in the first place, I wouldn't give a nickel for your chances. — Peter Benchley

To the side on the lower level was a room where all the sporting and hunting equipment was kept in lockers. Tyrell ruled this area and - by now - he had returned to it. He looked up when Aidan came running in with Sheridan's bow and quiver. "I was wondering if I'd see you back here," he said as he checked everything over. "Found all her arrows, but one, but it's okay. She probably buried it in the hay."

"Like a needle in a haystack?" mused Aidan. — Kristan Cannon

People who think it's so hard to find a needle in a haystack are probably not quilters. Needles find you. Just walk on the haystack for a second. You'll find the needle. — Jenny Lawson

Hi there ... Let me ask you a question ... How would you find a needle in a haystack?"
The first-grader pauses, pensive, tugging on the green yarn around her neck. She's really thinking this over. Tiny gears are turning; she's twisting her fingers together, pondering. It's cute. Finally she looks up and says gravely, "I would ask the hays to find it."
...
Yes, of course. She's a genius!
...
It's so simple. Of course, of course. The first-grader is right. It's easy to find a needle in a haystack! Ask the hays to find it! — Robin Sloan

When you consider the sheer magnitude of investable equities to choose from in the world's emerging markets, you realize that finding one that looks attractive enough to warrant investing your faith and assets in is as formidable a task as finding a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, researching investment opportunities is a lot more interesting than digging for needles in haystacks. — Mark Mobius

Probably fewer than 2% of handguns and well under 1% of all guns will ever be involved in a violent crime. Thus, the problem of criminal gun violence is concentrated within a very small subset of gun owners, indicating that gun control aimed at the general population faces a serious needle-in-the-haystack problem. — Gary Kleck

Serendipity is looking in a haystack for a needle and discovering a farmer's daughter. — Julius H. Comroe Jr.

If you are looking for a needle in a haystack, and somebody has already cataloged all the straw in the haystack, when you get to that needle you will recognize it's different than what was supposed to be there based on all that computerized haystack information that had been predetermined for you. — Francis Collins

Redditch: Christ, I hadn't even expected to be here. I was only standing in Redditch 'cause I was told it was a no-hoper. They bloody-well lied. Needles everywhere, you know that? Half the world's needles, made in sodding..

I was holding out for Cheam, or Chester. A 'ch' place, a nice little English 'ch' place. Not 'Redditch', listen to that. It's not a name, it's a fucking noise. What is it, 'Redditch'? Sounds like a frog vomiting.

And they told me it was Worcestershire, another lie!

Atkins: It is Worcestershire.

Redditch: Oh Humphrey, it's Birmingham. Everyone knows it is, listen to the sodding accent. I imagined meadows and steeples and farmyards and haystacks. Well, do you know what, shall I tell you something? You can't find a haystack in Redditch cause of all the fucking needles! — James Graham

Needle in a haystack's easy - just bring a magnet."
Eliot stared witheringly at Hardison. "You take the poetry out of everything."
"Says the man who'd just punch the haystack. — Keith R.A. DeCandido

Your hair looks like a haystack...but I like it. — Stephenie Meyer

They should change "like finding a needle in a haystack" to "like finding a pen that works in that drawer filled with pens that don't work. — Jenny Lawson