Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pull someone's leg

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.07 in modern English

Syllables
pul-l -some-one's -leg
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting.

verb

To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling).

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

The phrase from Scotland originally meant to make a fool of someone, often by cheating him. One theory is that it is derived from tripping someone by yanking or pulling his leg in order to make him stumble and look foolish.

Usage

Inflected Forms

pulls someone's leg (present, singular) pulling someone's leg (participle, present) pulled someone's leg (participle, past) pulled someone's leg (past)

Phrases

pull the other one, it's got bells on have a lend of make a fool of take the mickey wind up yank someone's chain

Frequently Paired Words

have a lend of kid make a fool of take the mickey wind up yank someone's chain

Synonyms

hoax play a joke on

Questions

What does pull someone's leg mean?
To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting.
Where does pull someone's leg come from?
The phrase from Scotland originally meant to make a fool of someone, often by cheating him. One theory is that it is derived from tripping someone by yanking or pulling his leg in order to make him stumble and look foolish.

How to pronounce pull someone's leg

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pull someone's leg”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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