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blind alley. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
blind alley, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
blind alley in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
blind alley you have here. The definition of the word
blind alley will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
blind alley, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
The notion of ‘blindness’ comes from the lack of a through passage (the ‘eye’). Attested since 1583, and used figuratively since the mid-19th century.
Noun
blind alley (plural blind alleys)
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blind, alley. A street or passageway that leads nowhere.
- (figurative) A course of inquiry that leads nowhere.
2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 21 April 2019: Sterling was grateful that a glaring miss from Lingard's pass was rescued by a linesman's flag against the Manchester United midfielder, but he almost tried too hard as the game progressed and was running up blind alleys before he was replaced by Marcus Rashford after 68 minutes.
2023 October 4, Ben Jones, “'08e' sparks new life into trusty shunters”, in RAIL, number 993, page 47:"We looked into lots of blind alleys for re-engineering our fleet. ."
Synonyms
Translations
street that leads nowhere
— see dead endReferences