ENGLISH
REFERENCE

fall for

idiom
Meaning

To be fooled by; to walk into (a trap) or respond to (a scam or trick).


Examples
SIMPLE

I did not fall for his silly lie.

CONTEXTUAL

The email looked official, but I knew it was a scam and did not fall for it.

COMPLEX

Despite the cleverness of the elaborate ruse, the detective refused to fall for the suspect's carefully constructed narrative.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    fall apart

    To be emotionally in crisis.

  2. 02

    fall around

    To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.

  3. 03

    fall asleep

    To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.

  4. 04

    fall at the last hurdle

    To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.

  5. 05

    fall behind

    To be late (for a regular event)

  6. 06

    fall between the cracks

    To wind up in an unexpected situation which is, inadvertently, invisible to or not handled by whatever process one had hoped to be subject to; to be overlooked.

  7. 07

    fall between two stools

    To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail.

  8. 08

    fall by the wayside

    To fail to be completed, particularly for lack of interest; to be left out, to suffer from neglect.

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