Where Did the Word “Hoodwinked” Originate and What Does the Expression For Being Tricked Mean?

To have been hoodwinked means to have been put at a disadvantage.

The term “hoodwinked” derives from early children’s games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Blind Man’s Bluff, where someone was either blindfolded or hooded and required to complete a task without being able to see.

Muggers also employed the hood to blind and rob innocent victims on the street.

Wink was really a half-wink, a reference to the blind point when the eye is covered by the lid.

We say that someone tricked has been “hoodwinked”.