to swallow a gudgeon
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To be bamboozled with a most palpable lie, as silly fish are caught by gudgeons. (Fr. goujon, whence the phrase avaler le goujon, to swallow the bait, to die.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to swallow a gudgeon” mean?
To be bamboozled with a most palpable lie, as silly fish are caught by gudgeons. (Fr. goujon, whence the phrase avaler le goujon, to swallow the bait, to die.
Is “to swallow a gudgeon” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.