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Glite Dictionary
to throw off the trail

to throw off the trail

1 7.7
To give false clues so people do not find the truth
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : desviar
  • The suspect tried to throw the detectives off the trail by providing false alibis.

Examples

  • - To throw us off the trail.

    Death Clique (2014)

  • And she figured she had the perfect thing to throw us off the trail.

    Birds in the Spring (1933)

  • Instead, she tossed off a too casual answer, hoping it would throw him off the trail.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • It'll throw him off the trail for sure...

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The lies and evasions were meant to throw us off the trail, and they created enough confusion to slow us down.

    Academic text (1994)

  • I think it's all an elaborate ruse to throw us off the trail. Do you think he will tell you anything? I think he'll try to put me off with a mixture of lies and half-truths.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Her misleading statements were designed to throw the investigators off the trail.

  • He changed his route frequently to throw anyone off the trail who might be following him.

Synonyms

to deceive
vsto throw off the trail
270 3.9

To make someone believe something that is not true to get an advantage

targets misdirection to prevent truth being found often in investigations
to throw off
vsto throw off the trail
31 4.8

To make someone's plans or schedule not work as expected

is about intentional misleading to stop uncovering truth in pursuits
to obfuscate
vsto throw off the trail
  • Formal
17 9.1

To make facts or information unclear on purpose

focuses on active misdirection to prevent discovery rather than just obscuring details
to bamboozle
vsto throw off the trail
  • Informal
11 8.3

To trick someone by pretending you want to help them

aims to hide critical facts to prevent discovery in investigations
to pull the wool over someone's eyes
vsto throw off the trail
  • Informal
7 8.2

To trick someone by hiding the truth

aims to mislead to stop discovery rather than simple trickery
to misdirect
vsto throw off the trail
5 6.0

To send someone the wrong way or give wrong directions

aims to hide the truth and prevent discovery
to decoy
vsto throw off the trail
3 6.1

To trick someone into a trap or danger

uses confusion to keep others from uncovering truth in investigations

Antonyms

to clarify
248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

How Misleading

to frame
123 7.5
to throw off the trail
1 7.7
to mislead
87 3.9
to divert
94 4.2

Surface Forms

throw off the trail infinitive
throwing off the trail present participle
throws off the trail third person singular
threw off the trail past
thrown off the trail past participle

Morphology

throw + off + the + trail

The literal parts ('throw' as force/move away, 'off' meaning away from, and 'trail' as a sequence of clues) give a clear physical image of removing someone from a trail, so a learner can partly infer the idea of leading someone away from clues. However, the target meaning 'to deliberately mislead in an investigation' is a metaphorical extension of the physical image and not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Throw off the trail comes from hunters and trackers who tried to hide a path. They could throw someone off the trail by crossing a river, making fake tracks, or hiding footprints so the follower lost the way, which is why it now means 'to mislead or confuse someone'.