leaving no stone unturned
Checking every possibility
Leaving no stone unturned means being thoroughly exhaustive in a search or investigation—checking every possibility, however unlikely.
The image is of someone lifting every rock in a field to find something hidden beneath.
Police left no stone unturned in their search for the missing child.
The phrase often appears in promises of diligence: We will leave no stone unturned until we find the cause.
- exhaustiveCovering all possibilities
- leave no traceRemove all signs of presence
- probeThorough examination or tool
- dig deepAccess hidden reserves
- meticulousShowing extreme attention to detail
painstaking · dotting the i's · uncover · root out · analyze · delve · resolve · scrutinize · inspect · pick apart · thorough · fine tooth comb · assiduous · survey · troubleshoot · relentless · comb · sift
- metaphors for overachievementgoing the extra mile, raising the bar, going above and beyond, overdelivering, overperforming
leaving no stone unturnedcursory
Hasty and incomplete
superficial · halfhearted · perfunctory · slapdash · careless
leaving no stone unturnedgiving up
Choosing to stop trying
quitting · throwing in the towel · phoning it in · apathetic · indifferent
leaves, leaver, leaving, stones, stoned, stoning, stonework, stonecutter, turned