The scammer tried to pull the wool over her eyes, but she spotted the fraud immediately.
word origin — From the 1800s — refers to pulling a wig (made of wool) down over the eyes of a judge to deceive him.
pull the wool over someone's eyes, walk on eggshells, put all your eggs in one basket, pull the plug, jump through hoops: meanings and examples
Learn these 5 idioms from Idioms set 31. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.
pull the wool over someone's eyes · idiom/pʊl ðə wʊl ˈoʊvɚ ˈsʌmwʌnz aɪz/
to deceive or trick someone
The scammer tried to pull the wool over her eyes, but she spotted the fraud immediately.
Origin: From the 1800s — refers to pulling a wig (made of wool) down over the eyes of a judge to deceive him.
walk on eggshells · idiom/wɔk ɔn ˈɛɡʃɛlz/
to be very careful about what you say or do to avoid trouble
Ever since their argument, he has been walking on eggshells around her to avoid making things worse.
Origin: A 19th-century expression — walking on actual eggshells would require extreme delicacy to avoid breaking them.
put all your eggs in one basket · idiom/pʊt ɔl jʊr ɛɡz ɪn wʌn ˈbæskət/
to risk everything on a single plan or opportunity
He invested all his savings into one stock, putting all his eggs in one basket.
Origin: From a 17th-century proverb — if you drop one basket with all your eggs, you lose everything at once.
pull the plug · idiom/pʊl ðə plʌɡ/
to stop an activity or process completely
Due to lack of funding, the company had to pull the plug on the project.
Origin: From medical settings in the 1900s — pulling a life-support plug ends artificial life or operation completely.
jump through hoops · idiom/dʒʌmp θru hups/
to go through many complex or difficult procedures to achieve something
In order to get a visa, he had to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops.
Origin: From the circus — trained animals were forced to jump through small hoops to please audiences, often unnecessarily.