lead by the nose
To cause to follow blindlyTo cause to follow blindly.
» His wife leads him by the nose.
Его жена водит его за нос. — sharptoothed
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(figuratively, idiomatic)To cause to follow blindly.
(figuratively, idiomatic)To lead by example and painstaking explanation, as one might do for remedial teaching.
We had to lead some users by the nose because they couldn't understand even the simplest instructions.
an der Nase herumführen
води́ть за́ носvodítʹ zá nos
- conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end
Examples
3 sentencesHis wife leads him by the nose.
ruЕго жена водит его за нос. — sharptoothed
She leads him by the nose.
He leads you by the nose if you let him.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
The figurative senses are metaphorical extensions from the literal sense of leading a liveThe figurative senses are metaphorical extensions from the literal sense of leading a livestock animal by grabbing its nose or nose ring (with the latter hooked to a lead) or by pushing its nose into feed or water to encourage it to eat or drink.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
leads by the nose, leading by the nose, led by the nose, led by the nose| Base form | lead by the nose · to lead by the nose |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | leads by the nose |
| Present participle | leading by the nose |
| Past simple | led by the nose |
| Past participle | led by the nose |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
6 synonyms- conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end:bamboozlesnowhoodwinkpull the wool over someone's eyesplay false
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.