“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.”

—  Robert H. Jackson

Brown v. Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 537 (1953) (concurring)
Judicial opinions

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "He who must search a haystack for a needle is likely to end up with the attitude that the needle is not worth the searc…" by Robert H. Jackson?
Robert H. Jackson photo
Robert H. Jackson96
American judge 1892–1954

Related quotes

Beryl Markham photo

“The way to find a needle in a haystack is to sit down.”

Beryl Markham book West with the Night

Source: West with the Night

Cassandra Clare photo

“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 book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

Nikola Tesla photo

“If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. … I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

New York Times (19 October 1931)

“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 (1935–2019) American writer

"Mindful"
Why I Wake Early (2004)

Charles Clarke photo

“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 (1950) British Labour Party politician

Home Secretary Charles Clarke, BBC radio, July 2005 following the London bombings

P.G. Wodehouse photo

“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 (1881–1975) English author

Source: The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories

“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 (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 94

Stevie Wonder photo

“Her brother's smart, he's got more sense than many,
His patience long, but soon he won't have any,
To find a job is like a haystack needle,
'Cause where he lives, they don't use coloured people,
Living just enough, just enough for the city.”

Stevie Wonder (1950) American musician

Living For The City
Song lyrics, Innervisions (1973)

Thomas Hood photo

“My tears must stop, for every drop
Hinders needle and thread.”

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) British writer

1840s, The Song of the Shirt (1843)

Sue Monk Kidd photo

“you got to figure out which end of the needle you’re gon be, the one that’s fastened to the thread or the end that pierces the cloth.”

Sue Monk Kidd (1948) Novelist

Source: The Invention of Wings

Related topics