hook, line, and sinker

1. To “fall for something hook, line, and sinker” is to be fooled completely. “Tom doubted that his ruse would fool anybody, but the boss fell for it hook, line, and sinker.” The reference is to fishing tackle.

Idioms and Phrases

Without reservation, completely, as in He swallowed our excuse hook, line, and sinker . This expression, first recorded in 1865, alludes to a fish swallowing not only the baited hook but the leaden sinker and the entire fishing line between them.

Example Sentences

A few years after my drink with Brooks — and after the dubious ascent of Bush to the White House in 2000, and the Iraq War had caught and carried Brooks hook, line and sinker in his New York Times columns — I lacerated him in my own columns, perhaps especially this one.

From Salon

"And they fell for it hook, line and sinker."

From BBC

That was the last thing I wanted to be, having been a fad person my entire life and falling hook, line and sinker for so many diets, I know the sort of desperation that lurks within the hearts of a lot of fat people.

From Los Angeles Times

The New York Times fell hook, line and sinker for former Attorney General William Barr’s contorted reading of the Mueller Report, which he claimed exonerated Trump.

From Salon

She still likes to say she fell in love with the games like we all did: hook, line and sinker.

From Los Angeles Times