to dangle a carrot in front of someone

[vandad]

Many common idiomatic expressions have actually been created using the name of fruits, .....I want to know wether there's an equivalent for this expression in Italian:"to dangle a carrot in front of someone" which means "to tempt someone with an unobtainable offer".In Persian we say "to put watermelon in someone's hand".

 

[federicoft]

'Agitare la carota' is used in Italian as well with such a meaning.

And there is another very common expression with a slightly different meaning, 'usare il bastone e la carota', to use the carrot and the stick.

 

[Polpo_D]

'Agitare la carota' is used in Italian as well with such a meaning.

And there is another very common expression with a slightly different meaning, 'usare il bastone e la carota', to use the carrot and the stick.

Looking into this, it seems to me we have a case of idioms seeming similar but in fact having slightly different meanings.

according to Dizionari.corriere.it/

Usare il bastone e la carota

usare il bastone e la carota

Fig.: ricorrere alternativamente alle buone e alle cattive maniere per ottenere un dato fine, come si usa fare con gli asini che un po' vengono allettati con le carote e un po' vengono presi a bastonate quando le carote non bastano a vincere la loro cocciutaggine.

This seems more similar to the English expression: To play good cop, bad cop.

"to dangle a carrot in front of someone"
is more about enticing someone with an offer. I would also add, the offer is not necessarily unobtainable, though it is often used with that sense as well. I was told that 'Agitare la carota' is not common, and the significance is not obvious to a typical Italian. I found the phrase " agitare l'esca " in another thread. Is this phrase more idiomatic and clear?

 

[alfaalfa]

Ciao,

" agitare l'esca " in another thread. Is this phrase more idiomatic and clear?

clear but not that idiomatic, in my opinion.
In this case I always say "fare come l'asino e la carota", still I don't know how common this expression is.

 

[euriclea]

To tempt someone with an unobtainable offer makes me think more than anything else to "usare uno specchietto per le allodole". There's a thread here.