take the bait

An allusion to a fish swallowing a baited hook.

• Audio (General Australian):

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take the bait (third-person singular simple present takes the bait, present participle taking the bait, simple past took the bait, past participle taken the bait)

1. (of a fish) To nibble at bait on a hook.
2. (figuratively) To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious.

   Synonyms: bite, rise to the bait

   • 1997 August 30, John Kifner, “Thousands Call on City Hall To Confront Police Brutality”, in New York Times, retrieved 8 May 2015:

     "I would like to first of all commend all of the police officers today. . . . They were in fact at various times provoked, and they didn't take the bait in any way, shape or form."

   • 2011 June 2, Nick Duerden, “Dave Gorman: Games for a laugh”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 8 May 2015:

     "He wanted to have a discussion about creationism. . . . But I didn't want that sort of discussion, and when I didn't take the bait, I think I spoiled the script that had been running in his head."

   • 2011 December 9, Craig Whitlock, “Gen. Martin Dempsey knows how to sing a tune”, in Washington Post, retrieved 8 May 2015:

     [T]he singing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. . . was pressed by our colleague, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, into demonstrating his reported ability to sing a rendition of the Irish holiday song, “Christmas in Killarney.” The general, improbably, took the bait, and you can now hear it.

   • 2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times‎:

     Unlike Bing, GPT-4 usually flat-out refused to take the bait when I tried to get it to talk about consciousness, or get it to provide instructions for illegal or immoral activities, and it treated sensitive queries with kid gloves and nuance.

• hook, line and sinker