hook, line, and sinker

hook, line, and sinker

definition
used to emphasize that someone has been completely deceived or tricked:
"he fell hook, line, and sinker for this year's April Fool joke"

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hook, line and sinker
adverb
: without hesitation or reservation : COMPLETELY
fell for the story hook, line and sinker

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Definition of;'hook, line, and sinker'
hook, line, and sinker
PHRASE
You can use hook, line, and sinker to emphasize that someone is tricked or forced into a situation completely.
[emphasis]

We fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
I was caught hook, line and sinker.
Synonyms: completely, totally, entirely, thoroughly   More Synonyms of hook, line, and sinker
See full dictionary entry for sinker
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
hook, line, and sinker
in American English
US
Informal
completely; altogether
orig. a fisherman's expression
See full dictionary entry for hook
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

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The phrase “hook, line, and sinker” is an idiom used to mean that someone has been completely and unquestionably fooled or deceived. The phrase originated from fishing, where a fish that bites the bait often swallows the hook, the fishing line, and even the sinker. The phrase was later adapted to describe someone who falls for something completely and without any doubt.