blind alley
a road, alley, etc., that is open at only one end.
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
1Dictionary.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. MeadeThe detective who habitually used the deductive method would spend a great deal of his time exploring blind alleys.
The Grell Mystery | Frank FroestThe audience is kept running up blind alleys, falling into hidden pitfalls, and darting around treacherous corners.
A Christmas Carol | C. Z. BarnettThe second, third, and fourth the same; and he began to fear they were all blind alleys leading nowhere.
A Maid of the Silver Sea | John OxenhamOne 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
an alley open at one end only; cul-de-sac
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
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.
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