down a dark path
1
8.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
por un camino oscuro
- So he went down a dark path, justifying it to himself by saying that he was doing it for the greater good.
Hey, Maverick, we've noticed that you're you're you're you're going down a dark path and you've been hanging out with gang members lately.
- Hey, Maverick, we've noticed that you're you're you're you're going down a dark path and you've been hanging out with gang members lately.
Examples
-
I'm a Army vet who went through a one year divorce that led me down a dark path of drinking and overeating and online shopping.
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And while that is a very real stressor and can lead people down a dark path into a not so fun place, that's called pressure, brother.
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And while that is a very real stressor and can lead people down a dark path into a not so fun place, that's called pressure, brother.
-
Hey, Maverick, we've noticed that you're you're you're you're going down a dark path and you've been hanging out with gang members lately.
-
After losing his job, he felt he was going down a dark path as he started to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms.
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She began lying to her friends, which led her down a dark path filled with deceit and isolation.
-
Many people warned him that the choices he was making could lead him down a dark path that would be hard to escape.
Synonyms
3
8.2
Act in a less honest way to get an advantage
To take actions that seem good but cause bad results
Antonyms
How Dangerous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a predictable metaphorical composition: 'down' signals movement into, 'dark' carries a negative/moral sense, and 'path' denotes a course of life, so together they convey entering a dangerous or morally questionable course. Because the sense depends on metaphorical extension of the constituent words (especially 'dark' = evil and 'path' = life course) rather than a novel idiom, a B1 learner who knows those senses can often infer the meaning, but it is not purely literal.
Etymology
Down a dark path may come from the picture of someone walking down a dark path at night, where they cannot see, can get lost, and may meet danger. So it means 'going into a dangerous or bad way of life'.