siren song

• Siren song, Siren's song, siren's song, sirensong

From the songs of the sirens in Greek mythology, whose bewitching song lured mariners to their doom.

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siren song (plural siren songs)

1. (idiomatic) An enticing but dangerous appeal, especially a misleading one.
   • 1914, Jack London, “The Sea Farmer”, in The Strength of the Strong:

     Romance never sang to him her siren song, and Adventure had never shouted in his sluggish blood.

   • 2009 March 26, Michael Elliott, “Global Trade: The Road to Ruin”, in Time:

     Said World Bank president Robert Zoellick: "Leaders must not heed the siren song of protectionist fixes. Economic isolationism can lead to a negative spiral of events."

   • 2024 September 8, HarryBlank, “Nothing Happens”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 October 2024:

     They found Xinyi Du at the apex of the DUAL Core, a massive quantum computer which plunged away below them where a series of catwalks and maintenance accesses buzzed with drones and shone with dozens of blinking indicators. It was spinning; Wettle had never understood what practical reason a computer might have to spin, but perhaps it wasn't practical at all. Most of the Foundation's best scientists succumbed to some extent to the siren song of the rule of cool.

   • 2025 May 8, Ned Temko, “Centrists’ only weapon against the far right: Good government”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     Can center-ground politicians, who have long dominated democratic governments, find a way to quiet the siren song of angry, antiestablishment nationalism? And will America’s maestro of the siren song, President Donald Trump, prove a powerful inspiration, or a cautionary tale, for voters in other democracies?

• clarion call

• Ingersons, nose rings, noserings