Lead Somebody Up/Down The Garden Path

C1 8+

Pronunciation: /lid ˈsʌmbɑdi ʌp/daʊn ðə ˈɡɑrdən pæθ/

Definitions of lead somebody up/down the garden path

noun a person, place, thing, or idea

Example Sentences

A1 I don't trust him, I think he might lead somebody up the garden path.

A2 She was led down the garden path by her so-called friend.

B1 The salesman tried to lead me up the garden path with false promises.

B2 I realized too late that he had been leading me down the garden path with his smooth talk.

C1 She was skilled at leading others up the garden path with her clever manipulation tactics.

C2 The politician's deceptive tactics led many people down the garden path during the election campaign.

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

Example Sentences

A1 She led me up the garden path by promising me a job that didn't exist.

A2 The salesman led us down the garden path with false claims about the product.

B1 He was led up the garden path by his friends who convinced him to invest in a risky business.

B2 The company's CEO led investors down the garden path by hiding financial losses.

C1 The politician led the public up the garden path with promises he knew he couldn't keep.

C2 The con artist led the wealthy couple down the garden path with a sophisticated investment scheme.

preposition a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause

Example Sentences

A1 He led me up the garden path by promising me a job that didn't exist.

A2 Don't let anyone lead you down the garden path with false promises.

B1 The salesman tried to lead us up the garden path with his smooth talking.

B2 She realized too late that he had been leading her down the garden path with his lies.

C1 The politician was skilled at leading the public up the garden path with his empty promises.

C2 The con artist had a talent for leading unsuspecting victims down the garden path with his elaborate schemes.

article a word that is used with a noun to specify grammatical definiteness of the noun

Example Sentences

A1 She led me up the garden path by promising me a delicious dessert, but it turned out to be just a plain cookie.

A2 He was led down the garden path by his so-called friend who convinced him to invest in a fake business.

B1 The salesman led the customer up the garden path with false claims about the product's effectiveness.

B2 The politician tried to lead the public down the garden path with promises of lower taxes, but their true intentions were soon revealed.

C1 The con artist was skilled at leading unsuspecting victims up the garden path with elaborate schemes to steal their money.

C2 The master manipulator had a way of leading people down the garden path with carefully crafted lies and deceit to achieve their own agenda.

Examples of lead somebody up/down the garden path in a Sentence

formal The salesman tried to lead the customer up the garden path with false promises.

informal Don't let him lead you up the garden path with his smooth talk.

slang She's just leading you down the garden path, don't believe a word she says.

figurative The politician led the public down the garden path with his empty promises.

Grammatical Forms of lead somebody up/down the garden path

past tense

led

plural

lead

comparative

more misleading

superlative

most misleading

present tense

leads

future tense

will lead

perfect tense

has led

continuous tense

is leading

singular

leads

positive degree

misleading

infinitive

to lead

gerund

leading

participle

led

Origin and Evolution of lead somebody up/down the garden path

First Known Use: 1925 year
Language of Origin: English
Story behind the word: The origin of the phrase 'lead somebody up/down the garden path' is believed to come from the idea of leading someone on a pleasant, winding path through a garden, only to deceive or mislead them in the end.
Evolution of the word: The phrase has retained its original meaning of deceiving or misleading someone, but it has also taken on a more general sense of leading someone astray or on a wild goose chase.