- Meaning
- This idiom describes deceiving or misleading someone, often by concealing the truth or presenting a false impression, as if covering their eyes with wool to obscure their vision. It conveys deliberate trickery or manipulation, typically used in social, professional, or personal contexts to highlight cunning or deceitful behavior, often with a sense of outsmarting the victim. The phrase carries a tone of disapproval, intrigue, or sly amusement, reflecting cultural wariness of deception and the human capacity for guile. It resonates in settings where trust is exploited, capturing the subtle art of misdirection, and its pastoral imagery adds a layer of historical texture, evoking the tactile act of blinding with wool. The idiom often implies a temporary success in fooling someone, suggesting that the deception may eventually be uncovered, making it a vivid metaphor for the risks and rewards of trickery.
- Origin
- The phrase likely originated in 19th-century Britain or America, rooted in the imagery of wool, a common material linked to sheep farming, and the act of covering someone’s eyes to obscure reality, possibly tied to blindfolding or trickery in rural life. Its earliest recorded use appears in an 1839 *New York Mirror* article, describing a con artist ‘pulling the wool over someone’s eyes’ to swindle them. The idiom gained traction in the mid-19th century, reflecting a culture wary of scams during economic booms, as seen in Mark Twain’s *The Gilded Age* (1873), which critiques deceit. Its use grew in 20th-century American and British English, particularly in journalism and detective fiction, amplified by the 1920s’ rise of organized crime and slang, as noted in Dashiell Hammett’s *The Maltese Falcon* (1930). The phrase’s adoption was fueled by its vivid imagery, evoking a deceptive veil, and its applicability to trickery, spreading through British and Commonwealth English via American media and literature, notably in Charles Dickens’ *Bleak House* (1853), which explores hidden truths. Its enduring use across English-speaking cultures, from political scandals to personal betrayals, stems from its universal relevance to deception and its colorful, tactile metaphor.
- Variants
-
- Pull the wool over someone’s eyes
- Pull the wool over their eyes
- Put the wool over someone’s eyes
- Wool over their eyes
- Examples
-
- He pulled the wool over her eyes, convincing her the deal was legitimate.
- Pull the wool over their eyes, and they’ll never suspect the surprise party.
- She put the wool over his eyes, hiding the budget cuts from the report.
- Wool over their eyes, the scam artist sold them a fake painting.
- They pulled the wool over the client’s eyes, exaggerating the product’s benefits.
- Pulling the wool over my eyes won’t work—I know you skipped the meeting.
|