The idiom “hook, line, and sinker” means complete acceptance without hesitation. It can also imply gullibility and is often used when someone is being deceived. The phrase comes from fishing and refers to a fish that swallows everything attached to the bait. Idioms add color and expressiveness to everyday speech.
When someone accepts something “hook, line, and plumb,” it means that the person in question has accepted it—that is, an idea or explanation—completely, without reservation. This idiomatic phrase can be used anytime someone takes information at face value and accepts it completely. It is often used to refer to someone who is gullible enough to fall for a joke or prank played on them. “Hook, line and sinker” is a phrase that derives from the pastime of fishing, and refers to a fish that swallows not only the bait but also everything attached to it.
An idiom is a word or short phrase that often means something very different from the literal interpretation of the words themselves. These phrases often originate in a very specific industry or arena, but are used more widely. Their meanings derive from how people of a certain culture use and understand them, and allow speakers to add color and expressiveness to everyday speech. One such idiom that relies on fishing terms is the phrase “hook, line, and sinker.”
If this idiom is used, it conveys a complete belief or acceptance of something else. There is no misunderstanding shown by a person who is described in this way. In reality, a person deserving of this phrase takes anything or accepts its reliability or truthfulness without any hesitation. For example, someone might say, “I thought he could only buy part of the package, but instead he got the whole hook, line, and sinker.”
Another way the phrase is often used is as a means to represent a certain level of gullibility. If someone will blindly accept anything anyone tells him, he will open that person up to all sorts of deceptions from others. For this reason, this idiom often comes into play when someone is being deceived or deceived by someone else. In this context, consider the sentence: “That salesman was putting on quite a show, and he fell for the hook, line, and sinker.”
As is the case with many idioms, this phrase comes from a very specific background and has evolved to make it usable in many different circumstances. When someone is fishing, he has to bait a hook, weight the hook down with a sinker under the water, and attach it to a line that leads back to the fishing rod. Any fish that takes the “hook, line and lead” is eating a lot more than just the bait.
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