Definitions

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a leader who entices people to follow (especially to their doom)
  • noun the title character in a German folk tale and in a poem by Robert Browning

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Pied Piper.

Examples

  • According to Manchester, the traditional fairy-tale hero called the Pied Piper was actually a pervert who chopped up his young followers into neat little piles of torsos, arms and legs.

    Four ethnic "Survivors": An interview with four Oakland teen prostitutes 2006

  • Apparently, I was known as the Pied Piper in our local ­supermarket - because I always had three children trailing around after me.

    mirror.co.uk - Home 2010

  • 'Pied Piper' Molecule Key in Treating Prostate Cancer, Leukemia Statins Also Lower Prostate Cancer Patients 'Prostate-Specific Antigen Levels Men With Higher Bone Density More Likely To Develop Prostate Cancer Last Updated -- Designed & Content Managed by Medindia Health Network Pvt Ltd.

    Medindia Health News 2009

  • It's hard to know where to start -- the bit about luring speculators into the muni market, for all the world as though Goldman's some kind of Pied Piper and buy-side investors are guileless children; the very idea of the muni market as being a potential arena for speculative activity; the idea that such activity is bound to be profitable for the desks taking the other side of the trade -- all of it tends to fall apart on a moment's reflection.

    Adrian Monck 2008

  • The Second Follower is the Pied Piper of the masses, the "connector" or the "sales guy" who knows how to get the message out and make it a party!

    Kari Henley: How To Start A Movement In 3 Minutes Kari Henley 2011

  • The Second Follower is the Pied Piper of the masses, the "connector" or the "sales guy" who knows how to get the message out and make it a party!

    Kari Henley: How To Start A Movement In 3 Minutes Kari Henley 2011

  • His first novel, King Rat, published in 1998, was a twisted version of the Pied Piper story set in London's clubland, with drum'n'bass coursing through its prose.

    A life in writing: China Miéville 2011

  • But what does this all have to do with rats and the Pied Piper tale?

    Exclusive First Look: Grimm Takes on the Pied Piper -- Rats! 2011

  • The Second Follower is the Pied Piper of the masses, the "connector" or the "sales guy" who knows how to get the message out and make it a party!

    Kari Henley: How To Start A Movement In 3 Minutes Kari Henley 2011

  • The Second Follower is the Pied Piper of the masses, the "connector" or the "sales guy" who knows how to get the message out and make it a party!

    Kari Henley: How To Start A Movement In 3 Minutes Kari Henley 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • the word pied is defined on this site as,"adj. Patchy in color; splotched or piebald. So are we talking about a Piper who is patchy in color here, who is splotched or piebald?

    February 5, 2012

  • I think the Piper is called "pied" because he wears clothes made of different colored patches, like a harlequin.

    February 5, 2012