See sell someone a pup on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From an old swindle, where one would be sold a bag purportedly containing a piglet, but actually containing a puppy. Compare pig in a poke.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "sells someone a pup",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "selling someone a pup",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "sold someone a pup",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "sold someone a pup",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "sell<,,sold> someone a pup"
},
"expansion": "sell someone a pup (third-person singular simple present sells someone a pup, present participle selling someone a pup, simple past and past participle sold someone a pup)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "British English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1931, R. Austin Freeman, Pontifax, Son and Thorndyke, published 2003, page 31:",
"text": "“Yes,” I agreed, “you undoubtedly sold him a pup. Precious mug he must have been to let you. But I suppose, as it was Saturday night, he was pretty busy.”",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2004, Henry De Vere Stacpoole, “Glued”, in The Slayer and Other Tales from the Pulps, page 99:",
"text": "I don't know who sold him the gold prospectus, but whoever did, sold him a pup.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2009 July 20, Arifa Akbar, “Churchill felt he was ‘sold a pup’ of a bomb shelter, letter reveals”, in The Independent:",
"text": "The document[…] reveals how Churchill complained that Duff had “sold him a pup” and let him think that “this place is a real bomb-proof shelter”.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2009 July 31, “Online dog lovers sold a pup”, in Sydney Morning Herald:",
"text": "Online dog lovers sold a pup [title]",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Dynasty 22: The Mirage:",
"text": "It hurt Henrietta to think that there was any area in which her husband did not excel, but if he had been anyone else she would have concluded that the dealer had sold him a pup.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To sell something of little worth, pretending that it is something else of greater value."
],
"id": "en-sell_someone_a_pup-en-verb-OLySjXbG",
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK) To sell something of little worth, pretending that it is something else of greater value."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "buy a pup"
},
{
"word": "sell someone a bill of goods"
},
{
"word": "let the cat out of the bag"
},
{
"word": "pig in a poke"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "deceive"
}
],
"tags": [
"UK"
]
}
],
"word": "sell someone a pup"
}
{
"etymology_text": "From an old swindle, where one would be sold a bag purportedly containing a piglet, but actually containing a puppy. Compare pig in a poke.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "sells someone a pup",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "selling someone a pup",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "sold someone a pup",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "sold someone a pup",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "sell<,,sold> someone a pup"
},
"expansion": "sell someone a pup (third-person singular simple present sells someone a pup, present participle selling someone a pup, simple past and past participle sold someone a pup)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "buy a pup"
},
{
"word": "sell someone a bill of goods"
},
{
"word": "let the cat out of the bag"
},
{
"word": "pig in a poke"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"British English",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1931, R. Austin Freeman, Pontifax, Son and Thorndyke, published 2003, page 31:",
"text": "“Yes,” I agreed, “you undoubtedly sold him a pup. Precious mug he must have been to let you. But I suppose, as it was Saturday night, he was pretty busy.”",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2004, Henry De Vere Stacpoole, “Glued”, in The Slayer and Other Tales from the Pulps, page 99:",
"text": "I don't know who sold him the gold prospectus, but whoever did, sold him a pup.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2009 July 20, Arifa Akbar, “Churchill felt he was ‘sold a pup’ of a bomb shelter, letter reveals”, in The Independent:",
"text": "The document[…] reveals how Churchill complained that Duff had “sold him a pup” and let him think that “this place is a real bomb-proof shelter”.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2009 July 31, “Online dog lovers sold a pup”, in Sydney Morning Herald:",
"text": "Online dog lovers sold a pup [title]",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2011, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Dynasty 22: The Mirage:",
"text": "It hurt Henrietta to think that there was any area in which her husband did not excel, but if he had been anyone else she would have concluded that the dealer had sold him a pup.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To sell something of little worth, pretending that it is something else of greater value."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(UK) To sell something of little worth, pretending that it is something else of greater value."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "deceive"
}
],
"tags": [
"UK"
]
}
],
"word": "sell someone a pup"
}
Download raw JSONL data for sell someone a pup meaning in All languages combined (2.7kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). 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.
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