Meaning & use
bury the lede
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiomspecialist
To hide the most important or interesting fact deep in a story, speech or message instead of putting it first.
Grammar: Verb phrase with an object built in: the article buried the lede.
Patterns
- bury the lede in something
- bury the lede of a story
The report buried the lede by waiting until page nine to mention the factory closing.
Don't bury the lede in your email; say what you need in the first sentence.
The headline buried the lede, since the biggest news was the mayor's resignation.
phraseidiominformalfigurative
To fail to emphasize the key point in any presentation, pitch or explanation.
Grammar: Used figuratively outside journalism.
Patterns
- bury the lede
In her speech she buried the lede, mentioning the new job at the very end.
If you bury the lede in a sales pitch, people stop listening.
He buried the lede in his message and nobody noticed the deadline.
Word forms
| third person singular | buries the lede |
|---|---|
| past tense | buried the lede |
| -ing form | burying the lede |
Common combinations
- accused of burying the lede
- The editor was accused of burying the lede.
- you buried the lede
- You buried the lede; tell me the result first.
- avoid burying the lede
- Avoid burying the lede in your summary.
- bury the lede in paragraph six
- The story buried the lede in paragraph six.
- without burying the lede
- She delivered the news without burying the lede.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bury the lead
- Bury the lead is the same expression with the more common spelling, and both mean the same thing.
- hide the main point
- Hide the main point is a plain explanation of the idea and has none of the journalistic flavor.
- bury the headline
- Bury the headline is rarer and focuses only on the top of a news piece.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bury the lede or lead (metal)? bury the lede or lead the story?
bury the lede vs lead (metal)
Lead the metal is pronounced like led and has nothing to do with this phrase.
bury the lede vs lead the story
To lead a story means to put the main fact first, which is the opposite of burying it.
Practice
The editor said the article ____ because the announcement of the factory's closing appeared only in the last paragraph.
Choose one answer.
Burying the lede means hiding the key fact late in a piece. The other options all describe putting the news first.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bury the lede”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.