blind alley
"blind-alley" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“blind alley” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blind, alley. A street or passageway that leads nowhere.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | blind alley |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “blind alley” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
blind alley is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for blind alley in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: The notion of ‘blindness’ comes from the lack of a through passage (the ‘eye’). Attested since 1583, and used figuratively since the mid-19th century. The correct English form is blind alley, spelled B-L-I-N-D- -A-L-L-E-Y.
Definition
- 1Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blind, alley. A street or passageway that leads nowhere.
- 2A course of inquiry that leads nowhere.
Etymology
The notion of ‘blindness’ comes from the lack of a through passage (the ‘eye’). Attested since 1583, and used figuratively since the mid-19th century.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “blind alley”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-L-I-N-D- -A-L-L-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.