hunting ground
2
4.6
- noun
- /ˈhʌntɪŋ ɡraʊnd/
- Informal
:
campo de oportunidades
- It looks like they've made it safely back from their distant hunting ground.
Or if we said, OK, we're going back to our old hunting grounds.
- Or if we said, OK, we're going back to our old hunting grounds.
Examples
-
For collectors, old cars make happy hunting grounds.
Academic text (2002) -
They too suspected the attic contained mice, and they refused to leave such a happy hunting ground.
Fiction book (1992) -
But it's a happy hunting ground for everyone, my brother.
Fiction book (2000) -
This was truly a good hunting ground.
Fiction book (1994) -
This has been a hunting ground of theirs for generations.
-
Canada now views the world as a global hunting ground for skills that are in increasingly short supply domestically.
Academic text (2002) -
It was perfect hunting grounds for them.
Blog text (9) -
Because cyberspace was a favorite hunting ground for the supermachini of the Security Forces, they avoided electronic contact whenever possible.
Fiction book (2000) -
The Hotel Grand Palais in Biarritz had for some years now been a happy hunting ground for Lea and her like - a place where you might easily find yourself shoulder to shoulder with the British prime minister or, in some more intimate posture, with the Prince of Wales.
-
The internet can be a vast hunting ground for job seekers looking for new opportunities.
How Promising
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'hunting' (searching) + 'ground' (an area) yields a place where searching occurs, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer 'a place to look for opportunities'. The metaphorical extension from literal hunting to searching for opportunities is common and cross-linguistically accessible, making the expression immediately understandable from its parts.
Etymology
Hunting ground uses the picture of hunting on a piece of ground to show a place full of prey or chances. Imagine collectors or job seekers searching a market like hunters in a forest; that's why we call a busy market or area a 'hunting ground' when people are looking for 'opportunities' today.