take for a ride

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

take for a ride (third-person singular simple present takes for a ride, present participle taking for a ride, simple past took for a ride, past participle taken for a ride)

1. (transitive) To deceive someone.
   • 1974, David Coverdale, Ritchie Blackmore (lyrics and music), “Lady Double Dealer”, in Stormbringer, performed by Deep Purple:

     Two timing woman / Trying to take me for a ride

   • 2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport‎:

     This image of Gerrard as Liverpool's grand protector chimes with everything we know about him and his passion for his club. From day one he was watching out for the bluffers and chancers who were seeking to take Liverpool for a ride.

   • 2019 December 8, Jason Farago, “A (Grudging) Defense of the $120,000 Banana”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Well, is it art? Is Mr. Cattelan taking us for a ride? Did you have to be there? Isn’t this banana just a banana, and not a wry commentary on male sexuality, genetic monocultures, or Central American geopolitics?

2. (transitive) To drive (a person) to a remote location in order to murder them.
   • 1936, The Elevator Constructor, volume 33, page 38:

     Yet he was kidnapped and "taken for a ride" in the fashion which Al Capone did so much to popularize in Chicago; and one story has it that he was shot only because the rope with which he was to have been hanged did not arrive in time.

   • 1997, Ian Macdonald, Betty O'Keefe, The Mulligan Affair: Top Cop on the Take, page 37:

     There had been previous killings, but Brent was the first to be taken for a ride in true gangster style. Police said his shooting had the earmarks of a professional job.

Synonyms

• take for a drive

Translations

References

• Jonathon Green (2024) “take for a ride v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
• “Take for a ride”, in BBC Learning English‎, BBC, 2014 October 21