Fishing for Fish, for Compliments, and for Evidence
Fishing is catching fish, and a metaphor for angling after something indirectly. Lawyers even have a name for it: a fishing expedition.
Fishing is catching fish, with a rod, a net or a boat. The figurative use is just as old and just as vivid: fishing for compliments, fishing for information, and in law a *fishing expedition* — a demand for documents made in the hope that something useful will turn up.
- Catching fish. *Fishing is closed until May.*
- Trying to obtain indirectly. *Fishing for an invitation.*
- The industry. *Fishing supports the whole coast.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | fishing | Deep-sea fishing. |
| Verb | fish | They fish at dawn. |
| Person | fisherman | A local fisherman. |
| Neutral | fisher | Commercial fishers. |
| Adjective | fishy | Something fishy. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Fishing has been part of this town for centuries.The industry sense.
- He was fishing for sympathy.Fishing for, always with an object.
- The judge called it a fishing expedition.A request made without a specific target.
Ways of fishing
- Angling — with a rod and line, usually for sport
- Fly fishing — with an artificial fly on a light line
- Trawling — dragging a net behind a boat
- Long-lining — a long line with many baited hooks
- Phishing — the online fraud, spelled with ph on purpose
From Old English *fiscian*, to fish, from *fisc*, fish. *Phishing* is a deliberate respelling from the 1990s, following the older hacker habit of swapping f for ph.
Fisherman or fisher?
Fisherman is still the common word. Fisher is used in official and scientific writing because it includes everyone.
What is a fishing expedition in law?
A broad request for evidence made without knowing what will be found. Courts usually refuse them.