See pull someone's leg on Wiktionary
Download JSON data for pull someone's leg meaning in All languages combined (7.5kB)
{
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "pull the other one, it's got bells on"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "pulls someone's leg",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "pulling someone's leg",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "pulled someone's leg",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "pulled someone's leg",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "pull someone's leg (third-person singular simple present pulls someone's leg, present participle pulling someone's leg, simple past and past participle pulled someone's leg)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "yank someone's chain"
},
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "have a lend of"
},
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "make a fool of"
},
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "wind up"
},
{
"_dis1": "100 0",
"word": "kid"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, page 111",
"text": "I hadn't pulled Mrs. Barstow's leg for any of that stuff, she had just handed it to me on a platter, and that wasn't my fault.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1979, Life of Brian, spoken by Mr. Cheeky (Eric Idle)",
"text": "No, I'm just pulling your leg, it's crucifixion really.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting. It usually implies teasing or goading by jokingly lying."
],
"id": "en-pull_someone's_leg-en-verb-xyqiWSYw",
"links": [
[
"tease",
"tease"
],
[
"goad",
"goad"
],
[
"jokingly",
"jokingly"
],
[
"lying",
"lying"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting. It usually implies teasing or goading by jokingly lying."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "prendre el pèl"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "開玩笑"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"alt": "usage: 开...的玩笑",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "kāiwánxiào",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "开玩笑"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "cháonòng",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "嘲弄"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "blagi"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "vedättää"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "mener en bateau"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "faire marcher"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "jemanden in die Irre führen"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "verarschen"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "veralbern"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "ugrat"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "prendere in giro"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "nabrać kogoś"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "wkręcać"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wkręcić"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "draznítʹ",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "дразни́ть"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "насмеха́ться impf (nasmexátʹsja) (colloquial, над (nad) + instrumental case)",
"sense": "to tease someone"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podkályvatʹ",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"imperfective"
],
"word": "подка́лывать"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "прика́лываться impf (prikályvatʹsja) (colloquial, над (nad) + instrumental case)",
"sense": "to tease someone"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "tarraing à cudeigin"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "picar (a alguien)"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "cizañear"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "meter cizaña"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "sacar pica"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "provocar"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "tomar el pelo"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "quedarse con alguien"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "buscarle a alguien las cosquillas"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "dalga deçmek"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "nói sạo"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "33 67",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1886, Mark Well, “An Old-Time Tip”, in Wallace's Monthly, volume 12",
"text": "I'm very glad to hear of his good fortune; but it's a deuced strange thing, for I saw him at the club last night and he never said a word of it. I'll pull his leg when I see him.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1893, John Kendrick Bangs, Coffee and Repartee",
"text": "The verb 'to-pull-his-leg' means to extract from his pocket all the lucre it will yield.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1895, Reports of Decisions in Probate",
"text": "\"I would 'pull his leg,' but Laura will not work with me.\" The expression \"pulling his leg,\" Miss Sullivan explained as meaning to coax or wheedle his wealth out of him.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling)."
],
"id": "en-pull_someone's_leg-en-verb-gJv3wnYw",
"links": [
[
"extract",
"extract"
],
[
"money",
"money"
],
[
"loan",
"loan"
],
[
"swindling",
"swindling"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, obsolete) To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling)."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"obsolete"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pull someone's leg.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "pull someone's leg"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "pull the other one, it's got bells on"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "pulls someone's leg",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "pulling someone's leg",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "pulled someone's leg",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "pulled someone's leg",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "pull someone's leg (third-person singular simple present pulls someone's leg, present participle pulling someone's leg, simple past and past participle pulled someone's leg)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "yank someone's chain"
},
{
"word": "have a lend of"
},
{
"word": "make a fool of"
},
{
"word": "wind up"
},
{
"word": "kid"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, page 111",
"text": "I hadn't pulled Mrs. Barstow's leg for any of that stuff, she had just handed it to me on a platter, and that wasn't my fault.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1979, Life of Brian, spoken by Mr. Cheeky (Eric Idle)",
"text": "No, I'm just pulling your leg, it's crucifixion really.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting. It usually implies teasing or goading by jokingly lying."
],
"links": [
[
"tease",
"tease"
],
[
"goad",
"goad"
],
[
"jokingly",
"jokingly"
],
[
"lying",
"lying"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting. It usually implies teasing or goading by jokingly lying."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with obsolete senses",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1886, Mark Well, “An Old-Time Tip”, in Wallace's Monthly, volume 12",
"text": "I'm very glad to hear of his good fortune; but it's a deuced strange thing, for I saw him at the club last night and he never said a word of it. I'll pull his leg when I see him.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1893, John Kendrick Bangs, Coffee and Repartee",
"text": "The verb 'to-pull-his-leg' means to extract from his pocket all the lucre it will yield.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1895, Reports of Decisions in Probate",
"text": "\"I would 'pull his leg,' but Laura will not work with me.\" The expression \"pulling his leg,\" Miss Sullivan explained as meaning to coax or wheedle his wealth out of him.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling)."
],
"links": [
[
"extract",
"extract"
],
[
"money",
"money"
],
[
"loan",
"loan"
],
[
"swindling",
"swindling"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, obsolete) To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling)."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"obsolete"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pull someone's leg.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/9f/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/En-au-pull_someone%27s_leg.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "prendre el pèl"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "開玩笑"
},
{
"alt": "usage: 开...的玩笑",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "kāiwánxiào",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "开玩笑"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "cháonòng",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "嘲弄"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "blagi"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "vedättää"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "mener en bateau"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "faire marcher"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "jemanden in die Irre führen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "verarschen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "veralbern"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "ugrat"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "prendere in giro"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "nabrać kogoś"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "wkręcać"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wkręcić"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "draznítʹ",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "дразни́ть"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "насмеха́ться impf (nasmexátʹsja) (colloquial, над (nad) + instrumental case)",
"sense": "to tease someone"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "podkályvatʹ",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"imperfective"
],
"word": "подка́лывать"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "прика́лываться impf (prikályvatʹsja) (colloquial, над (nad) + instrumental case)",
"sense": "to tease someone"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "tarraing à cudeigin"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "picar (a alguien)"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "cizañear"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "meter cizaña"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "sacar pica"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "provocar"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "tomar el pelo"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "quedarse con alguien"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "buscarle a alguien las cosquillas"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "dalga deçmek"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to tease someone",
"word": "nói sạo"
}
],
"word": "pull someone's leg"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.