What does “Hook, Line and Sinker” mean? The helpful idiomatic phrase “hook, line, and sinker” is a phrase that you may encounter in everyday conversation and writing. Here you will find the meaning of the phrase and you will also discover the information regarding its origin. You will also find examples of how to properly use this phrase in conversations/statements and learn some alternative ways to say this phrase while still conveying the same meaning.
Hook, Line and Sinker
Hook, Line And Sinker Meaning
The idiomatic phrase “hook, line, and sinker” means that someone has completely fallen for someone’s deceit and trickery without questioning it.
Origin of this idiom
The phrase “hook, line, and sinker” originates from the sport/pastime of fishing. A hook, line and sinker are all tools tied to the end of a fishing line used to lure and catch a fish. A fish, being greedy, will see the bait on a hook and gobble up the hook without thinking twice of the danger of being caught. The phrase was first used in 1865 in the sense of fishing and later used metaphorically to apply to other situations where people had been duped.
Hook, Line And Sinker Examples
Example Statements
A statement made by a celebrity during an interview about the most recent film being made.
- “My co-stars are excellent! They are so much fun! We play jokes on one another all day long. Generally, I can get them to fall for my jokes hook, line, and sinker every time.”
A statement made by a police officer assigned to an undercover operation.
- “We managed to arrest the suspect after infiltrating their gang. They fell for our decoy hook, line, and sinker and never suspected a thing. We are thankful to be able to get these criminals off our streets and out of our neighborhood.”
Example Conversations
A conversation between a brother and a sister.
- Brother: Oh my God! Tara! Help me!
- Sister: (running into the room to see her brother on the floor with blood all over his finger) Oh my God Clyde! What did you do? I am calling 911!
- Brother: NO! Don’t do that! I was just joking!
- Sister: I am going to kill you, Clyde. I swear!
- Brother: (laughing) I can’t believe you fell for that hook, line, and sinker!
A conversation between a mother and daughter.
- Daughter: Mom, I am failing two classes.
- Mother: Kara, you better be joking!
- Daughter: I’m not mom! I am failing and I might fail the year because of it.
- Mother: Kara! What have you been doing all year? You are grounded!! You have never, ever failed a class before! You’ve never even been close to failing!
- Daughter: (laughing) April Fools Mom! I can’t believe you fell for that hook, line, and sinker.
Other Ways to Say “Hook, Line and Sinker”
As the case with all idiomatic phrases, there are many other ways to say “hook, line, and sinker” and still convey the same meaning. Some of the other ways you can say this phrase include:
- Completely
- Totally
- Absolutely
Hook, Line, And Sinker | Picture
What does “Hook, Line and Sinker” Mean?
