ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ He Took the Bait

 ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ

ابتلع الطعم He Took the Bait

He Took the Bait

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Ibtala‘a aṭ-Ṭu‘ma

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ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ: "ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ" أَنَّ شَخْصًا وَقَعَ فِي فَخٍّ أَوْ خُطَّةٍ دُبِّرَتْ لَهُ، أَوْ أُجْبِرَ عَلَى عَمَلِ شَيْءٍ لَا يُحِبُّهُ، وَهُوَ يَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ فِيمَا يَفْعَلُهُ مَصْلَحَةٌ لَهُ. وَهُوَ تَشْبِيهٌ لِلسَّمَكَةِ الَّتِي تَأْكُلُ الطُّعْمَ الْمَوْضُوعَ فِي الصِّنَارَةِ ظَنًّا مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ مُجَرَّدُ طَعَامٍ، فَتَقَعُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الصَّيَّادِ. وَيُمْكِنُ اسْتِخْدَامُهُ فِي سِيَاقَاتٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ، مِنْهَا: "أَوْهَمَ الشُّرْطِيُّ تَاجِرَ الْمُخَدِّرَاتِ أَنَّهُ يُرِيدُ الشِّرَاءَ مِنْهُ، فَابْتَلَعَ هَذَا الطُّعْمَ"، "أَوْهَمَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ زَوْجَهَا أَنَّهَا تُحِبُّهُ، وَهُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهَا تُخَادِعُهُ وَأَنَّهُ ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ"، "أَوْهَمَ الْمُدِيرُ مُوَظَّفَهُ أَنَّهُ سَيُرَقِّيهِ، فَبَذَلَ الْمُوَظَّفُ جُهْدًا كَبِيرًا فِي عَمَلِهِ، وَلَكِنَّهُ فِي النِّهَايَةِ ابْتَلَعَ الطُّعْمَ".
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"He took the bait" means that someone fell into a trap or followed a plan set up for them, or that they were pushed to do something they don’t like, thinking it was in their best interest. The phrase is a metaphor, comparing the person to a fish that eats the bait on a hook, believing it is just food—only to end up caught by the fisherman.

This expression can be used in many situations. For example:

"The police officer tricked the drug dealer into thinking he wanted to buy drugs, and the dealer took the bait."

"The woman made her husband believe she loved him, while in fact she was deceiving him, and he took the bait."

"The manager made the employee believe he would get promoted, so the employee worked very hard, but in the end, he had taken the bait."

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مُعْجَمُ الْمَسْكُوكَاتِ اللُّغَوِيَّةِ العَرَبِيَّةِ المُعَاصِرَةِ

تَأْلِيف: د. مَحْمُودٌ أَبُو فَرْوَةَ الرَّجَبِيُّ
جَمِيعُ الْحُقُوقِ مَحْفُوظَةٌ لِلْمُؤَلِّفِ

Dictionary of Contemporary Arabic Fixed Expressions
All rights reserved by the author (Mahmoud Ahmad Alrajabi). 2025