bum steer

American  

[buhm steer] / ˈbʌm ˌstɪər /

noun

Slang

1. a piece of erroneous or misleading information or advice.

   He's been our broker for ten years, and far too honest and knowledgeable to give us a bum steer.

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bum steer British  

noun

1. slang false or misleading information or advice

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bum steer Idioms  

1. False or misleading information; poor advice. For example, Gene felt his doctor had given him a bum steer, as he hadn't lost any weight on the diet. [Slang; c. 1920]

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Etymology

Origin of bum steer

First recorded in 1895–1900; bum ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “of poor or unsatisfactory quality”) + steer ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “a tip, hint on a course of action”

Example Sentences

But sometimes you can’t, like when you ask a chatbot a factual question and get a bum steer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

Greenhorns Stan and Ollie go to Brushwood Gulch with a gold-mine deed and get a bum steer.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2020

It was a bum steer: we didn’t make a dent in it and nearly fainted when we got a bill for $58.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2012

A few years later, I was given another bum steer, this time by lovelorn indie music.

From The Guardian • Aug. 12, 2011

And all that sympathetic talk, that bum steer, just to cheat the big loser out of one measly pot!

From Fore! by Loan, Charles Emmett Van