Meaning

2 senses

  1. (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

  2. (idiomatic, obsolete)To extract money from someone (by taking out a loan or by swindling).

More definitions
  • subject to a playful hoax or joke

Examples

31 sentences

  1. I think you're pulling my leg.

    Мені здається, ти жартуєш.

    ruПо-моему, ты водишь меня за нос.

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  2. You're pulling my leg, aren't you?

    Ти жартуєш, так?

    deDu willst mich wohl verarschen, nicht wahr?

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  3. I think that you're pulling my leg.

    Мені здається, ти жартуєш.

    ruПо-моему, ты водишь меня за нос.

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  4. I'm only pulling your leg.

    Я просто жартую.

    deIch mache nur Spaß.

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  5. He is just pulling your leg.

    deEr veralbert dich nur.

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Translations

7 languages
Русский
By meaning 1
to tease someone:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
to tease someone:

Origin

The phrase from Scotland originally meant to make a fool of someone, often by cheating him

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.

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 formpull someone's leg · to pull someone's leg
3rd person singularpulls someone's leg
Present participlepulling someone's leg
Past simplepulled someone's leg
Past participlepulled someone's leg

irregular

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theypull someone's leg
he, she, itpulls someone's leg

Past simpleLesson

all personspulled someone's leg

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave pulled someone's leg
he, she, ithas pulled someone's leg

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill pull someone's leg

Synonyms

2 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

2 related words
RelatedkidB1wind up

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
pukepullA2pulleypulloverB1pulmonary
pull someone's leg — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto