Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | To bite at the hook |
| English translation | To fall for something, to take the bait |
| Meaning | To be lured into a trap and fall in it |
It is also used in a literal sense to describe a fish taking the bait. Sometimes you can also find this expression as abboccare all’esca, where esca means “bait”.
Examples
| Il pesce ha abboccato all’amo. | The fish took the bait. |
| L’uomo abboccò all’amo e si fece imbrogliare. | The man took the bait and was fooled. |
Where does this idiom come from?
The expression is simple: when a fish takes the bait, it falls into a trap (trappola) specially set for it. You can lure gullible people in the same way by setting a trap – figuratively speaking – and waiting for them to fall into it.
Related lessons
- amo (hook, bait)
- abboccare (to bite, to take the bait)
- a (preposition)
- prepositions
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