pull someone's leg
To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreactingTo tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting.
» I think you're pulling my leg.
По-моему, ты водишь меня за нос. — marafon
По-моему, вы водите меня за нос. — marafon
По-моему, ты вешаешь мне лапшу на уши. — marafon
По-моему, вы вешаете мне лапшу на уши. — marafon
Мені здається, ти жартуєш. — deniko
Мені здається, ти дразнишся. — deniko
Мені здається, ти це несерйозно. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(idiomatic)To tease someone; to lead someone on; to goad someone into overreacting.
jemanden durch den Kakao ziehen, jemanden in die Irre führen, verarschen
дразни́тьdraznítʹ, подка́лыватьpodkályvatʹ
(idiomatic, obsolete)To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling).
- subject to a playful hoax or joke
Examples
31 sentencesI think you're pulling my leg.
Мені здається, ти жартуєш. — deniko
ruПо-моему, ты водишь меня за нос. — marafon
You're pulling my leg, aren't you?
Ти жартуєш, так? — deniko
deDu willst mich wohl verarschen, nicht wahr? — mramosch
I think that you're pulling my leg.
Мені здається, ти жартуєш. — deniko
ruПо-моему, ты водишь меня за нос. — marafon
I'm only pulling your leg.
Я просто жартую. — deniko
deIch mache nur Spaß. — xtofu80
He is just pulling your leg.
deEr veralbert dich nur. — Vortarulo
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
The phrase from Scotland originally meant to make a fool of someone, often by cheating himThe 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
pulls someone's leg, pulling someone's leg, pulled someone's leg, pulled someone's leg| Base form | pull someone's leg · to pull someone's leg |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | pulls someone's leg |
| Present participle | pulling someone's leg |
| Past simple | pulled someone's leg |
| Past participle | pulled someone's leg |
irregular
Synonyms
2 synonyms- subject to a playful hoax or joke:hoaxplay a joke on
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.