come/crawl out of the woodwork
idiom
disapproving
: to appear suddenly usually because one sees an opportunity to get something for oneself
As soon as she won the lottery, people started coming out of the woodwork, asking for money.
Examples of come/crawl out of the woodwork in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The lawmaker said if polling begins to show members slipping in key swing districts with Biden at the top of the ticket, putting the House in jeopardy, more Democrats may come out of the woodwork to urge the president to drop out of the race.
—
Mike Lillis, The Hill, 9 July 2024
And now, because of streaming or the just evolution of taste, there’s other songs that have come out of the woodwork that people like more.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
Every year, a number of films come out of the woodwork to challenge for industry awards and year-end recognition, and in 2021, Michael Sarnoski’s Pig was perhaps the ultimate example of this trajectory.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 July 2024
Kendrick called him a colonizer and haters have come out of the woodwork to bring him down.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 12 June 2024
That’s when the Strangers crawl out of the woodwork to play their patented cat-and-mouse game.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024
That plot is so close to reality — or the movie’s catawampus version of reality — that actual rogue agents come out of the woodwork to eliminate Elly.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
But like with my English, sometimes when my guard is down, elements of my childhood come out of the woodwork.
—Clarissa Wei, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2023
Anyone, anywhere, can be your collaborator—and if your project is popular online, people can come out of the woodwork with fixes and new ideas.
—Mike Pearl, The New Republic, 14 Sep. 2023
Mike Lillis, The Hill, 9 July 2024
And now, because of streaming or the just evolution of taste, there’s other songs that have come out of the woodwork that people like more.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
Every year, a number of films come out of the woodwork to challenge for industry awards and year-end recognition, and in 2021, Michael Sarnoski’s Pig was perhaps the ultimate example of this trajectory.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 July 2024
Kendrick called him a colonizer and haters have come out of the woodwork to bring him down.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 12 June 2024
That’s when the Strangers crawl out of the woodwork to play their patented cat-and-mouse game.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024
That plot is so close to reality — or the movie’s catawampus version of reality — that actual rogue agents come out of the woodwork to eliminate Elly.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024
But like with my English, sometimes when my guard is down, elements of my childhood come out of the woodwork.
—Clarissa Wei, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2023
Anyone, anywhere, can be your collaborator—and if your project is popular online, people can come out of the woodwork with fixes and new ideas.
—Mike Pearl, The New Republic, 14 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come/crawl out of the woodwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Come/crawl out of the woodwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%2Fcrawl%20out%20of%20the%20woodwork. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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