blind alley
noun
plural blind alleys
: a fruitless or mistaken course or direction see usage paragraph at blind entry 1
Examples of blind alley in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As with many Black Hat presentations, Moshe’s success came from working through endless mistakes and blind alleys.
—
PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
This isn’t a youngster dribbling down blind alleys to try to impress; this is a winger tormenting defenders with trickery, pace and purpose.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Yet the story itself—a Donnie Darko-like tale set in 1984 about a game developer (Fionn Whitehead) descending into madness—comes up short, with five abrupt endings and several blind alleys.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2025
As Michael Porter famously pointed out, strategy is not operational effectiveness, and what makes for great instincts about execution can lead you down a strategic blind alley.
—Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The consistency of his defending has improved, as has his knack for knowing when to burst forward with the ball and when to wait for team-mates to join him instead of running down blind alleys.
—Carl Anka, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024
Sometimes a baseball game is like a blind alley.
—Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 5 June 2022
Intellectual progress includes a lot of blind alleys and wrong turns along the way.
—Tom Nichols, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2017
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PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
This isn’t a youngster dribbling down blind alleys to try to impress; this is a winger tormenting defenders with trickery, pace and purpose.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Yet the story itself—a Donnie Darko-like tale set in 1984 about a game developer (Fionn Whitehead) descending into madness—comes up short, with five abrupt endings and several blind alleys.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 18 Apr. 2025
As Michael Porter famously pointed out, strategy is not operational effectiveness, and what makes for great instincts about execution can lead you down a strategic blind alley.
—Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The consistency of his defending has improved, as has his knack for knowing when to burst forward with the ball and when to wait for team-mates to join him instead of running down blind alleys.
—Carl Anka, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024
Sometimes a baseball game is like a blind alley.
—Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 5 June 2022
Intellectual progress includes a lot of blind alleys and wrong turns along the way.
—Tom Nichols, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Blind alley.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blind%20alley. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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