[Idiom] TAKE FOR A RIDE. - What It Means to Fool Someone in the Extreme

deceive or trick

To 'take for a ride' paints quite the picture: someone being literally driven away, only to find themselves deceived or even in danger. Used metaphorically, this idiom refers to fooling someone with no malicious intent but often in a significant or elaborate way. Often, it involves luring someone away from the safety of truth into a situation where the intention is hidden. It can stem from playful trickery to serious betrayal, much like gangsters in the 1920s who would take their enemies for a 'ride' from which they never returned.

Example Sentences

1. Don't let them take you for a ride.

   Don't let them deceive or trick you.

2. He realized too late that they had taken him for a ride in the sales deal.

   He realized too late that they had deceived him in the sales deal.

3. She was taken for a ride with the fake investment scheme, losing a lot of money.

   She was deceived and cheated in the fake investment scheme, losing a lot of money.