blind alley

American  

noun

1. a road, alley, etc., that is open at only one end.

2. a position or situation offering no hope of progress or improvement.

   That line of reasoning will only lead you up another blind alley.

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blind alley British  

noun

1. an alley open at one end only; cul-de-sac

2. informal a situation in which no further progress can be made

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blind alley Idioms  

1. A dead end; a position without hope of progress or success. For example, That line of questioning led the attorney up yet another blind alley. This term alludes to a street or alley that has no outlet at one end. [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of blind alley

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

Once outside, we catch a glimpse of tapping heels ducking down a blind alley and it looks like the back of our crowd.

From Salon

As a viewer begins to realize, these blind alleys, pun intended, are going to lead nowhere.

From The Wall Street Journal

Davies said he was just asking people's views, but his predecessor Lord Bourne warned the party against going down a "blind alley".

From BBC

In many cases, the threat of costly legal action can silence critics, leaving the scientific record uncorrected, which risks other researchers wasting funding by chasing down blind alleys.

From Science Magazine

The lessons gleaned from "End Times" could help redirect us away from blind alleys as we seek to find our way through the challenges confronting us in the turbulent 2020s.

From Salon