dig up dirt

Meaning: If you dig up dirt on someone, you try to find details from their past to make them look bad in the present.

For example:

• Many politicians pay people to dig up dirt on their opponents, and then pass the information to the media.
  
• Very few of our leaders come from disadvantaged backgrounds because it's so easy to dig up dirt on them or their family members.
  

Note: We can also say "dig up the dirt", "dig the dirt up" and "dig the dirt", all of which have the same meaning.

Quick Quiz:

A journalist is digging up dirt on a politician in order to

help the politician's campaign damage the politician's image increase the politician's popularity www.englishclub.com

Click for answerb.