Crawl Out of the Woodwork

Welcome to English in a Minute!

Woodwork is any part of a house or building that is made of wood.

CRAWL OUT Of THE WOODWORK

This expression sounds troubling,

I won! I have the winning lottery ticket.

That’s great!

How much money did you win?

I won ‌‌$25,000!

But please don’t tell anyone.

You’re right. If word gets out, people will crawl out of the woodwork wanting some of it.

If someone “crawls out of the woodwork,” they appear suddenly.

You might not have seen them for a long time, and probably don’t want to.

This expression comes from insects.

Bugs sometimes unexpectedly crawl out from woodwork in your home.

And that’s English in a Minute!