rug-pull
/ˈrʌɡˌpʊl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.69 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sudden revelation that completely contradicts the assumptions one has been led to believe.
Example Sentences
- "Perhaps this necessity to be on guard for the next rug-pull is what makes A Footstep of Air proceed in fatiguing seesaws instead of invigorating changes of pace."
- "In July 1993, P & G began a television advertising campaign in which its products were compared to those of an unnamed competitor. There is no dispute that the unnamed product in each commercial represented LYSOL Deodorizing Cleaner, an all-purpose product often employed for bathroom cleaning. [...] We thus reject what appears to be L & F's chief grievance: that the "rug-pull" effect conveyed the false message that LYSOL merely appears to clean. By "rug-pull" the parties refer to the surprise at the end of each commercial, when it is revealed that LYSOL has not cleaned as effectively as Spic and Span."
- "Writing does need a shape, a beginning, middle, end. Highs and lows of action. Climaxes, rug-pulls, black moments, dénouements."
- "Surely, the editors of Adweek magazine have to be some of the most critical critics of advertising. And now you can follow all the plot twists, rug pulls and comedy routines these highly selective critics selected as the best."
- "As a nurse she was all too familiar with the fragility of life, the cosmic rug-pull, the shadow on the X-ray, but she felt now a sudden, bracing reacquaintance with her own impermanance."
- "[H]e's added new reveals and twists to what's really going on with the limbo beasts at exactly the right points to keep the reader surprised and interested when things might seem obvious. This last rug pull should in theory be obvious but it still subverts the direction the plot seemed to be going in: [...]"
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈrʌɡˌpʊl/
- British English: /ˈrʌɡˌpʊl/