enticement
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en·tice
(ĕn-tīs′)en•tice•ment
(ɛnˈtaɪs mənt)n.
Enticement
drawing card An attraction; a person or thing noted for its drawing power—the ability to attract a great deal of attention or patronage. This expression has been in use since the 1800s, although drawing ‘attractive’ dates from the 16th century.
The Falls City team is the best drawing card here of any in the Association. (Courier-Journal, May 4, 1887)
A variant of drawing card is selling card.
Fata Morgana A mirage or illusion that entices one into danger or destruction; also, an alluring woman, a seductress. Fata Morgana often refers specifically to the mirage of a great city that appears occasionally in the treacherous Straits of Messina, and which has led many a sailor to an untimely death on the jagged rocks bordering the Straits. The term combines the Italian fata ‘fairy’ and Morgana, derived from Morgan le Fay, an enchantress of Arthurian fame believed to be the sister of King Arthur and the student of the magician Merlin. She was reputed to live in Calabria, an area of Italy adjacent to the Straits of Messina, where, with her enticing illusions of pleasure and grandeur, she lured unwary men to their destruction.
jail bait One who serves as a temptation to commit crime, esp. an alluring female who has not reached the age of consent. This common expression of obvious origin usually refers to a young girl with whom sexual contact is the foundation for a statutory rape charge. A variant is San Quentin Quail.
I’m not interested in little girls. Particularly not in jail-bait like that one. (J. Braine, Room at the Top, 1957)
lead up the garden path To deceive or mislead; to entice or beguile; to tempt with less than honorable intentions. Though no longer limited to affairs of the heart, this expression refers to the proclivity of many casanovas and coquettes to stroll among the flowers with a sweetheart in search of romantic privacy.
They’re cheats, that’s wot women are! Lead you up the garden [path] and then go snivellin’ around cos wot’s natcnerai ’as ’appened to ’em. (Ethel Mannin, Sounding Brass, 1926)
| Noun | 1. |  enticement - something that seduces or has the quality to seduceinfluence - a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking" forbidden fruit - originally an apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden; it is now used to refer to anything that is tempting but dangerous (as sexuality) allurement - attractiveness; "its allurement was its remoteness" |
| 2. |  enticement - qualities that attract by seeming to promise some kind of rewardattractiveness, attraction - the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts; "her personality held a strange attraction for him" | |
| 3. | enticement - the act of influencing by exciting hope or desire; "his enticements were shameless" influence - causing something without any direct or apparent effort wheedling, blandishment - the act of urging by means of teasing or flattery leading astray, leading off - the act of enticing others into sinful ways seduction - enticing someone astray from right behavior allurement, solicitation - the act of enticing a person to do something wrong (as an offer of sex in return for money) |