BBB Etymology - Pull the wool over one's eyes
Meaning "blind to the facts and deceive," appears to be an American coinage of the late 1800s, although a similar phrase, "to spread the wool over one's eyes," appeared in the 1830s.
The standard story traces the phrase to the wigs commonly worn by men (especially judges and attorneys) in the 19th century. A judge fooled by a clever lawyer would be said to have the "wool" (slang for a wig) pulled over his eyes, blinding him to the facts of the case.
Equally plausible is it is related to the phrase "to pull the wool" of an opponent, meaning either literally or figuratively to pull his hair (for which "wool" was established slang of the period) in anger. By this logic, "to pull the wool" of an opponent over his eyes would mean to get the better of him through trickery.
Or some combination where wool=hair, pull=spread, thus covering one's eyes with one's own hair.
The standard story traces the phrase to the wigs commonly worn by men (especially judges and attorneys) in the 19th century. A judge fooled by a clever lawyer would be said to have the "wool" (slang for a wig) pulled over his eyes, blinding him to the facts of the case.
Equally plausible is it is related to the phrase "to pull the wool" of an opponent, meaning either literally or figuratively to pull his hair (for which "wool" was established slang of the period) in anger. By this logic, "to pull the wool" of an opponent over his eyes would mean to get the better of him through trickery.
Or some combination where wool=hair, pull=spread, thus covering one's eyes with one's own hair.
