WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

lead by the nose
    v 1: conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately
         feigning good intentions so as to gain an end; "He
         bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the
         subject well" [syn: bamboozle, snow, hoodwink, pull
         the wool over someone's eyes, lead by the nose, play
         false]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

37 Moby Thesaurus words for "lead by the nose":
   affect, bend, bestride, bias, color, dictate, dispose, dominate,
   have subject, have the ascendancy, hypnotize, incline, induce,
   influence, lead, make putty of, master, mesmerize, move, persuade,
   play first fiddle, predispose, predominate, preponderate, prevail,
   prompt, rule the roost, soften up, sway, take the lead, tinge,
   tone, twist, wear down, wear the pants, weigh with, work