siren song

Definitions

An enticing but dangerous appeal, especially a misleading one.

idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“Romance never sang to him her siren song, and Adventure had never shouted in his sluggish blood.”

“Said World Bank president Robert Zoellick: "Leaders must not heed the siren song of protectionist fixes. Economic isolationism can lead⟳ to a negative spiral of events."”

“They found Xinyi Du at the apex of the DUAL Core, a massive quantum computer which plunged away below them where a series of catwalks and maintenance accesses buzzed with drones and shone with dozens of blinking indicators. It was spinning; Wettle had never understood what practical reason⟳ a computer might have⟳ to spin⟳, but perhaps it wasn't practical at all. Most of the Foundation's best scientists succumbed to some extent to the siren song of the rule⟳ of cool.”

“Can center-ground politicians, who have⟳ long dominated democratic governments, find⟳ a way to quiet the siren song of angry, antiestablishment nationalism? And will America’s maestro of the siren song, President Donald Trump, prove⟳ a powerful inspiration, or a cautionary tale, for voters in other democracies?”

CEFR level