blind alley

American  

noun

blind alleys plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blind alleys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blind alley

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blind alley

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 ● Nov. 8, 2025

They wandered down one blind alley after another.

From New York Times ● Jan. 15, 2022

“Your moral code has reached its climax, the blind alley at the end of its course,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2021

Feynman warns in The Character of Physical Law, “because you will get ‘down the drain,’ into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 24, 2021

None of his “leads” had led anywhere, except, perhaps, down a blind alley toward the blankest of walls.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote