Take The Bait Meaning

(idiomatic) To be lured by an offer, flattery, or a provocation into doing something, especially something disadvantageous or dubious.

Example: 1997 Aug. 30, John Kifner, "Thousands Call on City Hall To Confront Police Brutality," New York Times (retrieved 8 May 2015):
  "I would like to first of all commend all of the police officers today. . . . They were in fact at various times provoked, and they didn't take the bait in any way, shape or form."
2011 June 2, Nick Duerden, "Dave Gorman: Games for a laugh," The Independent (UK) (retrieved 8 May 2015):
  "He wanted to have a discussion about creationism. . . . But I didn't want that sort of discussion, and when I didn't take the bait, I think I spoiled the script that had been running in his head."
2011 Dec. 9, Craig Whitlock, "Gen. Martin Dempsey knows how to sing a tune," Washington Post (retrieved 8 May 2015):
  [T]he singing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. . . was pressed by our colleague, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, into demonstrating his reported ability to sing a rendition of the Irish holiday song, “Christmas in Killarney.” The general, improbably, took the bait, and you can now hear it.