beat the bushes

[beat the bushes] also [beat the brush] {v. phr.}, {informal} To try very hard to find or get something.

/The mayor was beating the bushes for funds to build the playground./

Contrast: BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH or BEAT AROUND THE BUSH.

Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms

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	beat about the bush [beat about the bush] or [beat around the bush] {v. phr.}, {slang} To talk about ... A Dictionary of American Idioms beat up [beat up] {v.}, {informal} To give a hard beating to; hit hard and much; thrash; ... A Dictionary of American Idioms beat the --- out of [beat the --- out of] or [lick the --- out of] or [whale the --- ... A Dictionary of American Idioms hear the beat [hear the beat] or [see the beat] {v. phr.}, {dialect} To hear of or to ... A Dictionary of American Idioms heart skip a beat [heart skip a beat] or [heart miss a beat] 1. The heart leaves out or ... A Dictionary of American Idioms beat all [beat all] or [beat the Dutch] {v. phr.}, {informal} To be strange or surprising. * ... A Dictionary of American Idioms beat to [beat to] {v.}, {informal} To do something before someone else does it. * /I was ... A Dictionary of American Idioms