fishing expedition

noun

1

: a legal interrogation or examination to discover information for a later proceeding

2

: an investigation that does not stick to a stated objective but hopes to uncover incriminating or newsworthy evidence

Examples of fishing expedition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And third, perhaps most importantly, the treaties don't allow for what's called a fishing expedition. —Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024

Courts likely won’t indulge a legal fishing expedition Boston College Law School’s Quinn argues the Amazon rainforest analogy doesn’t constitute fraud, so long as Altman wasn’t actively shopping for chainsaws at the time. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2024

Named after the old-fashioned Gaelic name for the assisting attendant on highland hunting or fishing expeditions, Ghillie's Pantry is stocked with whisky for private tastings with in-house expert Dario, who will fling your taste buds all around Scotland, dram by dram. —Nicole Trilivas, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2024

Joseph Mansfield, chief assistant Monroe County state attorney, told the Miami Herald that passengers on the boat told FWC investigators that the captain, 42-year-old Laurence Lewis, was drinking from a tequila bottle the entire fishing expedition. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 12 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Legal Definition

fishing expedition

noun

fish·​ing ex·​pe·​di·​tion

-ˌek-spə-ˈdi-shən

1

: an inquiry (as by the use of discovery) that is unnecessarily extensive or unrelated to the lawsuit

2

: an investigation that does not stick to a stated objective but hopes to uncover incriminating or newsworthy evidence