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.[1]

Adverb

hook, line and sinker

Completely; (of 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 also Thesaurus:completely

Translations

(idiomatic) completely

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)

See also

Icelandic: gína við

References

“hook” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019: “Hook, line, and sinker 'completely' is 1838, a metaphor from angling.”

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