'Blind alley' definitions:

Definition of 'blind alley'

From: WordNet
noun
A street with only one way in or out [syn: blind alley, cul de sac, dead-end street, impasse]
noun
(figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement; "all the clues led the police into blind alleys"; "so far every road that we've been down has turned out to be a blind alley"

Definition of 'Blind alley'

From: GCIDE
  • Blind \Blind\, a. [AS.; akin to D., G., OS., Sw., & Dan. blind, Icel. blindr, Goth. blinds; of uncertain origin.]
  • 1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect or by deprivation; without sight. [1913 Webster]
  • He that is strucken blind can not forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light; unable or unwilling to understand or judge; as, authors are blind to their own defects. [1913 Webster]
  • But hard be hardened, blind be blinded more, That they may stumble on, and deeper fall. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Undiscerning; undiscriminating; inconsiderate. [1913 Webster]
  • This plan is recommended neither to blind approbation nor to blind reprobation. --Jay. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Having such a state or condition as a thing would have to a person who is blind; not well marked or easily discernible; hidden; unseen; concealed; as, a blind path; a blind ditch. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Involved; intricate; not easily followed or traced. [1913 Webster]
  • The blind mazes of this tangled wood. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Having no openings for light or passage; as, a blind wall; open only at one end; as, a blind alley; a blind gut. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. Unintelligible, or not easily intelligible; as, a blind passage in a book; illegible; as, blind writing. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. (Hort.) Abortive; failing to produce flowers or fruit; as, blind buds; blind flowers. [1913 Webster]
  • Blind alley, an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac.
  • Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. --Knight.
  • Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night.
  • Blind cat (Zool.), a species of catfish ({Gronias nigrolabris}), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania.
  • Blind coal, coal that burns without flame; anthracite coal. --Simmonds.
  • Blind door, Blind window, an imitation of a door or window, without an opening for passage or light. See Blank door or Blank window, under Blank, a.
  • Blind level (Mining), a level or drainage gallery which has a vertical shaft at each end, and acts as an inverted siphon. --Knight.
  • Blind nettle (Bot.), dead nettle. See Dead nettle, under Dead.
  • Blind shell (Gunnery), a shell containing no charge, or one that does not explode.
  • Blind side, the side which is most easily assailed; a weak or unguarded side; the side on which one is least able or disposed to see danger. --Swift.
  • Blind snake (Zool.), a small, harmless, burrowing snake, of the family Typhlopid[ae], with rudimentary eyes.
  • Blind spot (Anat.), the point in the retina of the eye where the optic nerve enters, and which is insensible to light.
  • Blind tooling, in bookbinding and leather work, the indented impression of heated tools, without gilding; -- called also blank tooling, and blind blocking.
  • Blind wall, a wall without an opening; a blank wall. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'blind alley'

From: Moby Thesaurus