Meanings
- idiomaticinformalnot comparableCompletely, totally.
But you, my dear Charles, whether you realize it or not, have gone straight, hook, line and sinker, into the very worst set in the University.
1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 5, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego), page 381 more example
It was reported by some of the state delegates who passed through Genesee that there was some doubt about [Luther] Bradish's accepting. He must accept. Should he decline, and old Gid[eon] Lee be nominated, we are gone, hook, line, and sinker.
1838 (date written), Thurlow Weed Barnes, quoting George Washington Patterson, “1837–1838”, in Memoir of Thurlow Weed (Life of Thurlow Weed […]; II), Boston, Mass.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], published 1884, →OCLC, pages 59–60Synonyms: lock, stock and barrel, rod, line and sinker, absolutely, all-out, tout à fait, all the way, stone-cold, blind
- idiomaticinformalnot comparablespecificallyOf accepting a belief, statement, etc.: naively, unquestioningly.
I told him you were just a friend, and he fell for it hook, line and sinker.
3 more examples
Everything's certainly working nice and smooth. The old man swallowed those references of yours, hook, line and sinker.
1924 May 24 – July 12, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “Bill Undertakes a Mission”, in Bill the Conqueror: His Invasion of England in the Springtime, 10th edition, London: Methuen & Co. […], published 1931, →OCLC, § 6, page 59[Y]ou had to have a husband, and quick, so you fixed on me. You were pretty enough and I fell for it hook, line and sinker; […]
1935 October 18 (first performance), Noël Coward, “Fumed Oak: A Comedy in Two Scenes”, in Tonight at 8:30: Plays, New York, N.Y.: The Sun Dial Press, published 1936, →OCLC, scene ii, page 142In a lengthy post on his social media website, Truth Social, Trump accused his voters on Wednesday of falling for what he called a "radical left" hoax by the opposition to discredit him. "Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker.[…]"
2025 July 17, Oliver Holmes, quoting Donald Trump, “Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Jun 2026
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From hook + line (“fishing line”) + and + sinker (“weight used in fishing to cause the line to sink”), referring to all the parts of a fishing tackle that a fish might pull away from an angler.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish helt og holdent, med hud og hår
- helt og holdentcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- med hud og hårcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Finnish viimeistä myöten, niellä nahkoineen karvoineen
- viimeistä myötencompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- niellä nahkoineen karvoineenof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
German ganz und gar, mit Haut und Haaren
- ganz und garcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- mit Haut und Haarencompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Hungarian csont nélkül, egy az egyben
- csont nélkülcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- egy az egybencompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- komplettencompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- mindenestülcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- szó nélkülcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- szőröstül-bőröstülcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- úgy, ahogy vancompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Icelandic gína við einhverju, gleypa söguna hráa
- gína við einhverjuof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
- gleypa söguna hráaof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
- kokgleypa eitthvaðof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
- trúa einhverju eins og nýju netiof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
Norwegian Bokmål med søkke og snøre
- med søkke og snørecompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Polish bez zastrzeżeń, całkowicie
- bez zastrzeżeńcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- całkowiciecompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- naiwnieof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
- bezmyślnieof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
- bezkrytycznieof accepting a belief, etc.: naively, unquestioningly — see also naively, unquestioningly
Spanish como pescadito, con moño y todo
- como pescaditocompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- con moño y todocompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- de cabo a rabocompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- de pe a pacompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
- de principio a fincompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Swedish med hull och hår
- med hull och hårcompletely, totally — see also completely, totally
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hook, line and sinker
All rhymes →Cite this entry
hook, line and sinker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hook%2C%20line%20and%20sinker
“hook, line and sinker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hook%2C%20line%20and%20sinker. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hook, line and sinker,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hook%2C%20line%20and%20sinker.
Source: hook, line and sinker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.