garden-path

garden-path
gar·den-path (gärʹdn-păth', -päth') adj.
Of or relating to a sentence that is easily misparsed, as The horse raced past the barn fell, in which people people usually misinterpret raced as a simple past tense verb, leading to a nonsensical interpretation, instead of as a passive participle, yielding the correct interpretation The horse, which was raced past the barn, fell.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • garden path — noun • • • Main Entry: ↑garden …   Useful english dictionary

  • garden path — noun A sentence that is easily incorrectly parsed on a first read, due to ambiguity of a word or words. See Also: lead down a garden path, lead up the garden path …   Wiktionary

  • Garden path sentence — Garden path sentences are used in psycholinguistics to illustrate that human beings process language one word at a time. The name refers to the saying to be led down the garden path , meaning to be misled . An example is:: The horse raced past… …   Wikipedia

  • garden path, the — np Misleading direction, deception. I m afraid Grady has led you down the garden path, baby. You ll never get your money back. 1920s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

  • lead someone down/up the garden path — see ↑lead, 1 • • • Main Entry: ↑garden lead someone down/up the garden path informal : to deceive someone : to cause someone to go, think, or proceed wrongly He believes the average consumer is being led down the garden path by the promises in… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Up the Garden Path — was a 1984 novel by Sue Limb which was then adapted into a radio series by BBC Radio 4 and later into a television sitcom by Granada TV for ITV. Both the radio and television series comprising three seasons each, with the radio seasons broadcast… …   Wikipedia

  • lead someone down the garden path — lead (someone) down the garden path to deceive someone. Our country has been led down the garden path by the politicians in office. Etymology: based on the idea that a path in a garden is very pleasant, so someone who is brought along it can be… …   New idioms dictionary

  • lead down the garden path — lead (someone) down the garden path to deceive someone. Our country has been led down the garden path by the politicians in office. Etymology: based on the idea that a path in a garden is very pleasant, so someone who is brought along it can be… …   New idioms dictionary

  • lead someone up the garden path — If someone leads you up the garden path, they deceive you, or give you false information that causes you to waste your time. Lead someone down the garden path is also used …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • lead someone up the garden path — (informal) DECEIVE, mislead, delude, hoodwink, dupe, trick, entrap, beguile, take in, fool, pull the wool over someone s eyes, gull; informal con, pull a fast one on, string along, take for a ride, put one over on. → garden * * * lead someone up… …   Useful english dictionary

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