thrill of the hunt
3
6.8
- noun
:
emoción de la caza
- Many people enjoy the thrill of the hunt when searching for hidden treasures.
They want games, they want the thrill of the hunt, they want the pursuit, and above all, they want the win.
- They want games, they want the thrill of the hunt, they want the pursuit, and above all, they want the win.
Examples
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The proverbial thrill of the hunt, however, is sometimes overrated.
Academic text (2001) -
That has been his plan all along—to offer himself up to the available dangers of this place, to experience the thrill of the hunt without ever quite being sure whether he was the hunter or the hunted.
Fiction book (1991) -
You know, it's all the thrill of the hunt.
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These three men have yet to experience the thrill of the hunt.
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Well, for me, it's the thrill of the hunt.
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You love the thrill of the hunt.
Blog text (9) -
An outstanding athlete, he lives for the thrill of the hunt.
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They want games, they want the thrill of the hunt, they want the pursuit, and above all, they want the win.
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She remembers running across the plain, the thrill of the hunt.
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It wasn't the shooting that was important, they'd both reassure themselves, but rather the thrill of the hunt.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
283
2.4
A sudden strong feeling of excitement and pleasure that can include fear
43
2.2
Looking carefully to find something or someone
Antonyms
How Exciting
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward composition of 'thrill' (a sharp feeling of excitement) + 'of' + 'the' + 'hunt' (pursuit/search), so its meaning 'excitement from pursuing/searching' is directly inferable from the constituents. The figurative extension (applying hunting metaphorically to any pursuit) is a transparent, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the words will grasp the MWE.
Etymology
Thrill of the hunt comes from real hunting: people felt a strong thrill while chasing an animal during the hunt. So, it now means the 'excitement' of 'searching' for something, not just 'finding' it.