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definitions

Idioms

    lead up/down the garden path, to deceive or mislead in an enticing way; lead on; delude: The voters had been led up the garden path too often to take a candidate's promises seriously.

Origin of garden

1300–50; Middle English gardin < Old North French gardin, Old French jardin < Germanic; compare Old High German gartin-, German Garten, yard2
Related formsgar·den·a·ble, adjectivegar·den·less, adjectivegar·den·like, adjectiveun·gar·dened, adjectivewell-gar·dened, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for lead down the garden path

garden

noun

British
  1. an area of land, usually planted with grass, trees, flowerbeds, etc, adjoining a houseUS and Canadian word: yard
  2. (as modifier)a garden chair
  1. an area of land used for the cultivation of ornamental plants, herbs, fruit, vegetables, trees, etc
  2. (as modifier)garden tools Related adjective: horticultural
(often plural) such an area of land that is open to the public, sometimes part of a parkbotanical gardens
  1. a fertile and beautiful region
  2. (as modifier)a garden paradise
(modifier) provided with or surrounded by a garden or gardensa garden flat
lead a person up the garden path informal to mislead or deceive a person

adjective

common or garden informal ordinary; unexceptional

verb

to work in, cultivate, or take care of (a garden, plot of land, etc)
Derived Formsgardenless, adjectivegarden-like, adjective

Word Origin for garden

C14: from Old French gardin, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German gart enclosure; see yard ² (sense 1)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lead down the garden path

garden

n.

c.1300, from Old North French gardin (13c., Modern French jardin), from Vulgar Latin hortus gardinus "enclosed garden," via Frankish *gardo, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz- (cf. Old Frisian garda, Old Saxon gardo, Old High German garto, German Garten "garden," Old English geard "enclosure," see yard (n.1)). Italian giardino, Spanish jardin are from French.

Garden-party is by 1843. Garden variety in figurative sense first recorded 1928. To lead someone up the garden path "entice, deceive" is attested by 1925.

garden

v.

1570s, from garden (n.). Related: Gardened; gardening.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with lead down the garden path

lead down the garden path

Also, lead up the garden path. Deceive someone. For example, Bill had quite different ideas from Tom about their new investment strategy; he was leading him down the garden path. This expression presumably alludes to the garden path as an intentional detour. [Early 1900s] Also see lead on.

garden

In addition to the idiom beginning with garden

  • garden variety

also see:

  • lead down the garden path
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.