Abboccare all’amo

Common Italian expression

LiterallyTo bite at the hook
MeaningTo be lured into a trap and fall in it
IPA pronunciation/abbokˈkaːre alˈlaːmo/

Abboccare all’amo
To fall for something, to take the bait

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.

a fishing rod
  • amo (hook, bait)
  • abboccare (to bite, to take the bait)
  • a (preposition)
  • prepositions

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