wool over eyes
Deliberate misleading act
To pull the wool over someone's eyes is to deceive or trick them, usually by concealing the truth: He thought he could pull the wool over my eyes, but I knew exactly what he was up to.
The image suggests blocking someone's vision with a blindfold.
The phrase almost always appears with "pull."
- deceiveCause false belief
- trickDeliberate deception
- conArgument against
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- foolUnwise, gullible person
dupe · hoodwink · mislead · lead astray · bamboozle · swindle · bluff · scam · long con · bait and switch · hustle · flimflam · smokescreen · smoke and mirrors · blind · false pretenses · gullible · naive
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
- naivetygreenhorn, newbie, tenderfoot, raw recruit, born yesterday
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- Sewing Metaphorsseamless, threadbare, woven, patched up, hanging by a thread
- ignoranceignorance, unawareness, nescience, in the dark, clueless
wool over eyescome clean
Admit the full truth
tell the truth · level with · speak plainly · bare all · lay one's cards on the table
wool over eyesopen someone's eyes
Cause sudden realization
see clearly · open eyes · enlighten · disillusion · wake up