hook, line and sinker

English

Alternative forms

• rod, line and sinker

Etymology

From all the parts of a fishing tackle that may be lost to a fish. Appeared in 1838 as a metaphor from angling.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌhʊk ˌlaɪn ən(d) ˈsɪŋkə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adverb

hook, line and sinker

1. Completely; (of a belief or acceptance) naively or unquestioningly.

   I told him you were just a friend, and he fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:completely

Translations

(idiomatic) completely

• Danish: med hud og hår (da), helt og holdent
• Finnish: niellä nahkoineen karvoineen (swallow with skin and fur)
• German: ganz und gar (de), mit Haut und Haaren
• Hungarian: mindenestül (hu), egy az egyben, szőröstül-bőröstül (hu), kompletten, szó nélkül, csont nélkül, úgy, ahogy van
• Icelandic: (fall for something hook, line and sinker) trúa einhverju eins og nýju neti, (fall for something hook, line and sinker) kokgleypa eitthvað, (fall for the story, hook, line and sinker) gleypa söguna hráa, (swallow hook, line and sinker) gína við einhverju
• Norwegian Bokmål: med søkke og snøre
• Russian: со все́ми потроха́ми (so vsémi potroxámi) (with all the innards)
• Swedish: med hull och hår (sv)

See also

• eat something up with a spoon