A: Any updates in the news? Has there been any advancement in the investigation of the celebrity’s murder? B: Good news. The police hit pay dirt when a witness came forward with fresh information. Note: This idiom means “to discover or come upon something very, particularly, or abundantly valuable or useful, especially after a long or arduous search.” This idiom, from the mid-1800s, during the California Gold Rush, refers to a miner’s finding gold or other precious metals while sifting soil. Pay dirt refers to dirt that has enough ore in it to be worth extracting. By the late 1800s it had been transferred to other lucrative or valuable discoveries. | 