go astray
Wander off the right path or subject; also, wander into evil or error. For example, It was hard to follow the lecturer's gist, since he kept going astray, or The gang members led him astray, and he ended up in court. This expression alludes to sheep or other animals that stray from the rest of the flock. Indeed, Handel's oratorio Messiah (1741) has this chorus: “All we like sheep have gone astray, Every one to his own way.” [c. 1300]
Words Nearby go astray
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use go astray in a sentence
If Harry thought as keenly as his grandmother, he would never have allowed that video to go astray.
Directors sometimes go astray and cases are constantly arising to determine their liability.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesFor as it was your mind to go astray from God; so when you return again you shall seek him ten times as much.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousFor very easily can art go astray, but it is a difficult and lengthy process for her to recover herself.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4) | Richard MutherIt was unfortunate, of course, Portia Graham hastily remarked, but well hope no more notices go astray.
Marjorie Dean College Freshman | Pauline Lester
The higher and more intense the life, the more carefully must it be guarded, lest it be endangered and go astray.
When the Holy Ghost is Come | S. L. Brengle
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