scare-line

Noun

scare line (plural scare lines)

1. A long rope, cable, or other line that is used to frighten fish into an area where they are more easily caught using other gear.
   • A scare line (burinawa), several hundred fathoms long, would be cast in a straight line across the current, often several kilometres from land on a flat and sandy bottom. It would be kept close to the bottom by sinkers.1995, Arne Kalland, Fishing Villages in Tokugawa, Japan, →ISBN, page 106
2. A phrase or message used as a headline or quote that distorts the facts in order to alarm the reader or listener.
   • Recently I heard a typical radio ad trying to frighten people into purchasing long-term care insurance. The big scare line was that “three out of five Americans will need institutional care, which can cost $60,000 per year."2004, Ralph Warner, Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well