pied piper
1
8.1
- noun
- /paɪd ˈpaɪpər/
- Literature
:
flautista de Hamelín
- He was the pied piper that led the voters to hope and change.
Examples
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The rampant expansion of poor eating habits has served as a pied piper to a whole other host of health pests.
Blog text (30) -
Used to call me the "pied Piper of the pigs."
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The ice cream man is like the pied piper, only evil.
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You know, maybe the ice cream man thinks he's the pied piper.
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Now here is a devilish-looking fellow playing the pied piper, leading the citizens off to...?
Blog text (17) -
It's as if we are part of that well-known legend about the pied piper who led the charmed children to go nowhere.
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According to the folk tale, the pied piper did charm the children of Hamlin into marching to his tune.
Academic text (2003) -
The politician became a pied piper, charming crowds with his promises but ultimately leading them to disappointment.
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In the music industry, many artists serve as pied pipers for young fans, often promoting unhealthy lifestyle choices.
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As a charismatic leader, she was a pied piper for the youth, guiding them towards misguided paths.
Synonyms
39
3.4
A person who is pleasant and easily makes others like them
2
3.7
A person who convinces others to do or believe something
2
8.9
A person who tries to convince others to follow a religion or belief
1
6.9
A person who tries to make others do wrong things
1
8.6
A person who uses kind, sweet words to get what they want from others
A person who attracts others by being friendly and attractive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning cannot be inferred from the literal constituents 'pied' (multicolored) and 'piper' (a person who plays pipes); it is a cultural reference to the fairy tale 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' where the piper lures followers to a harmful outcome. Because the figurative sense depends on knowledge of that story rather than regular compositional rules, a B1 learner who only knows the component words is unlikely to derive the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
The noun pied piper comes from a story about a man in colourful clothes (pied) who played a pipe (piper) to attract and lead away rats and then children. So calling someone a pied piper means they can charm people to 'follow' them, sometimes leading them into 'danger'.