blind alley

See synonyms for blind alley on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a road, alley, etc., that is open at only one end.

  2. a position or situation offering no hope of progress or improvement: That line of reasoning will only lead you up another blind alley.

Origin of blind alley

1
First recorded in 1575–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blind alley in a sentence

  • You know nearly all the byways and blind alleys of this part of London.

    Sue, A Little Heroine | L. T. Meade
  • The detective who habitually used the deductive method would spend a great deal of his time exploring blind alleys.

    The Grell Mystery | Frank Froest
  • The audience is kept running up blind alleys, falling into hidden pitfalls, and darting around treacherous corners.

    A Christmas Carol | C. Z. Barnett
  • The second, third, and fourth the same; and he began to fear they were all blind alleys leading nowhere.

  • One reason is that one is so apt to go down the same blind alleys over and over again, if one proceeds without method.

    Amusements in Mathematics | Henry Ernest Dudeney

British Dictionary definitions for blind alley

blind alley

noun
  1. an alley open at one end only; cul-de-sac

  2. informal a situation in which no further progress can be made

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with blind alley

blind alley

A dead end; a position without hope of progress or success. For example, That line of questioning led the attorney up yet another blind alley. This term alludes to a street or alley that has no outlet at one end. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.