Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yank someone's chain

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables: yank -some-one's chain
IPA

31

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

3

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

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

Informal

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see yank, chain.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: poke, prod"
"So, be careful what you are paying attention to. If it looks like someone is yanking your chain, he or she probably is."
"“For the same reason you were yanking my chain about the double ropes,” I said. “You want to see if I'm going to be any help to you or a total idiot when it comes to this retail thing.”"
"It was so easy to yank his chain, Tiree smirked to herself, as she dialled Les's London flat."

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

yanks someone's chain (present, singular) yanking someone's chain (participle, present) yanked someone's chain (participle, past) yanked someone's chain (past) jerk someone's chain (alternative) pull someone's chain (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

get someone's goat

Synonyms

pull someone's leg poke prod

Questions

What does yank someone's chain mean?: To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting.

How to pronounce yank someone's chain

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