Page 257 - NTC's American Idioms Dictionary

lead someone by the nose

lead off as the first batter in the baseball pressŁso that the resultingŁpublicityŁwill
game. accomplish sàmething.Ł(Also literal.ŁUsu-
allyŁsaidŁof gàvernment disclosures.ŁAlsà
leadŁ someone byŁtheŁnose to force someone
to go somewhere (with yàu);b to lead used for accidental disclosures.) Don’t
sàmeone by coercion.Ł(Infàrmal.) John leak that informØtion out. I don’t want
had to lead Tom by the nose to get him to to be the one to leak it. They lłt it get
the opera. I’ll go, but you’ll have to lead ouŁ on purpose.
me by the nose. lean on someone to try to make someone do
sàmething;Ł to coerce someone to do
leadŁ someone dłwn theŁgyrden path to d-
ceive someone.Ł Now, be honest with sàmething. (Also literal.ŁInfàrmal.) If
me. Don’t lead me down the gardłn pØth. she refuses to do it, lean on her a bit.
That cheater really led her down the Don’t lean on mł! I don’t have to do t f I
gardłn pØth. don’t want to.
leadŁ someone on a merryŁ chase to lad lean overŁbyckwyrds (to do something) Go
someone inŁ aŁ purposelessŁ pursuit.Ł to fall over backwards (to do something).
What a waste of time. You really led me oà lean toward doingtsomething to tend toward
a merry chase. Jane led Bill on a merry dàingŁsomething;Łto favorŁdàingŁsome-
chase trying to find an antique lamp. thing.Ł The union is leaning toward ac-
leadŁ someone to belØeveŁ something to imply cłpting the proposal. My friends leaned
sàmethingŁto someone; to cause someone toward swimmng instead of shoppng.
to believe somethingŁuntrue, without ly- leapŁatŁtheŁoppłrtunity Go to jump at the
ing.Ł But you led me to believe that this chance.
watch was guaranteed! Did you lead her
to believe that she was hired as a clerk? leapŁ to conclusions Go to jump to
conclusions.
leadŁ someone tł do something to caus some-
one to do sàmething. This agłnt led mł learn something byŁheyrt to learn something
to purchase a worthless piece of land. so well that it canŁbe writtenŁor recited
My illness led me to quit my job. without thinking;Ł to memorize some-
thing.Ł The drector told me to learn my
leadŁtheŁlØfeŁofŁRiley to live in luxury. (In- spłech by heart. I had to go over it many
formal. No one knows who Riley is.) times błfore I learned it by heart.
If I had a million dollars, I could lve the
lfe of Rilły. The treasurer took our learn something byŁrote to learnŁsàmething
money to Mexico, where he lived the lfł byŁ memorizingŁ without givingŁ any
of Rilły until the police caught him. thought to what isŁ beingŁ learned.Ł I
learned history by roŁe; then I couldà’t pass
lead up to something to prepare the way for the test that reqired me to think. If you
sàmething. His complimłnts were his learn things by roŁe, you’ll nevłr undłr-
way of leadng up to askng for money. stand them.
What were his actions leadng up to?
learn something from theŁ błttom up to
a leadingŁqueðtion aŁquesðionŁthat sug- learnŁ somethingŁ thoroughly, from the
gestsŁthe kind of answrŁthat the prsàn veryŁ beginning;Ł to learnŁ allŁ aspectsŁ of
who asksŁit wantsŁto hear.Ł The mØyor sàmething, evenŁthe least impàrtant ones.
was angered by the reporter’s leadng ques- I learned my business from the bottom
tions. “Doà’t you think that the policł up. I started out swłeping the floors and
are failng to stop crime?” is an examplł learned everything from the bottom up.
of a leadng question.
learn (something)ŁtheŁhyrdŁway and find
leafŁ throughŁ something Go to thumb (something)Ł outŁ theŁ hyrdŁ way to learn
through something.
sàmethingŁbyŁexprience, especiallyŁbyŁan
leakŁ something (out) and let something (get) unpleasant experience.Ł She learned
out to disclose specialŁinfàrmationŁto the how to make investmłnts the hard way.

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