See sell someone a pup in All languages combined, or 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"
},
{
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{
"kind": "other",
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}
],
"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"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "donar gat per llebre"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "dar gato por lebre"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "vender gato por lebre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "dar gato por liebre"
}
]
}
],
"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": [
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"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Galician translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations"
],
"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"
]
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "donar gat per llebre"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "dar gato por lebre"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "vender gato por lebre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to swindle",
"word": "dar gato por liebre"
}
],
"word": "sell someone a pup"
}
Download raw JSONL data for sell someone a pup meaning in English (3.2kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). 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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