Idioms are fun word phrases that mean something different than the actual words say. People use them to make their speaking and writing more colorful and interesting. In this article, you will learn fifty unique idioms related to tricking someone, fooling friends, and practical jokes.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms that mean pulling pranks, fooling people, and telling fibs. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Tricking Someone
1. Pull someone leg
Definition: To tease or trick someone playfully by telling them something untrue.
Used in a Sentence: Do not believe his crazy story about a flying dog, he is just pulling your leg. / I knew he was pulling my leg when he said school was canceled on a Tuesday.
Similar Expressions: Tease playfully / Fool someone
2. Pull the wool over someone eyes
Definition: To trick or deceive someone so they do not see the truth.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to pull the wool over his parents eyes by saying his homework was finished. / You cannot pull the wool over her eyes because she always checks the facts.
Similar Expressions: Deceive someone / Hide the truth
3. Take someone for a ride
Definition: To trick or cheat someone out of money or trust.
Used in a Sentence: He paid too much for the broken toy because the seller took him for a ride. / Do not trust strangers who try to take you for a ride with false promises.
Similar Expressions: Cheat someone / Deceive easily
4. Play a trick
Definition: To do something silly or funny to fool someone as a joke.
Used in a Sentence: The kids planned to play a trick on their brother by hiding his shoes. / It is fun to play a harmless trick on April Fool Day.
Similar Expressions: Play a prank / Fool a friend
5. Sell a bill of goods
Definition: To trick someone into believing a false story or buying something useless.
Used in a Sentence: The salesman sold us a bill of goods when he claimed the broken bicycle worked fine. / Do not let him sell you a bill of goods about his rare comic book.
Similar Expressions: Trick with lies / Sell fake claims
6. Lead someone down the garden path
Definition: To deceive someone by making false promises or giving wrong directions.
Used in a Sentence: He promised to help with the project, but led me down the garden path and left. / Do not let dishonest peers lead you down the garden path.
Similar Expressions: Trick and mislead / False promises
7. Pull a fast one
Definition: To trick or cheat someone quickly before they realize what is happening.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to pull a fast one and trade me a fake rare card for my real one. / Watch him closely during the card game so he does not pull a fast one.
Similar Expressions: Trick quickly / Cheat fast
8. Smoke and mirrors
Definition: A clever trick or illusion meant to confuse people and hide reality.
Used in a Sentence: The magician stage show was full of smoke and mirrors to hide how he did tricks. / His explanation of why he was late felt like smoke and mirrors.
Similar Expressions: Illusion / Clever deception
9. Pull a prank
Definition: To execute a funny joke that surprises or startles a friend.
Used in a Sentence: We decided to pull a prank on our art teacher by putting plastic frogs on her desk. / Pulling a prank on April Fools Day is a classic tradition.
Similar Expressions: Play a joke / Practical joke
10. Hornswoggle someone
Definition: To trick or cheat someone using clever words or confusion.
Used in a Sentence: The pirate tried to hornswoggle the sailors out of their gold coins. / Do not let smooth talkers hornswoggle you into giving away your toys.
Similar Expressions: Cheat someone / Hoodwink
11. Hoodwink someone
Definition: To trick or deceive someone by hiding your true intentions.
Used in a Sentence: The clever fox managed to hoodwink the farmer and steal the bread. / She hoodwinked her brother into doing her chores by making it sound like a game.
Similar Expressions: Trick someone / Deceive peers
12. Bamboozle someone
Definition: To confuse and trick someone so thoroughly that they do not know what to think.
Used in a Sentence: The confusing riddle completely bamboozled the contestants on the quiz show. / He tried to bamboozle his parents with a complicated excuse for being late.
Similar Expressions: Confuse and trick / Puzzling deception
13. Pull strings
Definition: To use secret influence or sneaky tricks behind the scenes to get your way.
Used in a Sentence: She pulled some strings to get us front-row seats for the school play. / He used his connections to pull strings behind the scenes.
Similar Expressions: Use secret influence / Behind-the-scenes trick
14. Feed someone a line
Definition: To tell someone a false or exaggerated story to manipulate them.
Used in a Sentence: Do not believe his excuses, he is just feeding you a line about why he missed practice. / She fed us a line about her puppy eating her homework.
Similar Expressions: Lie to someone / Tell fake stories
15. Pull the rug out from under someone
Definition: To suddenly withdraw support or trick someone by changing plans unexpectedly.
Used in a Sentence: Agreeing to help and then canceling last minute pulled the rug out from under my plans. / Trusting him was a mistake because he pulled the rug out from under our project.
Similar Expressions: Betray suddenly / Remove support
16. A wolf in sheep clothing
Definition: A sneaky trickster who pretends to be kind while planning to cause harm.
Used in a Sentence: He acted so sweet at first, but turned out to be a wolf in sheep clothing. / Beware of people who act like a wolf in sheep clothing to trick new students.
Similar Expressions: Fake friend / Dangerous impostor
17. Snake in the grass
Definition: A deceitful person who tricks you while pretending to be your ally.
Used in a Sentence: I trusted him with my secret, but he told everyone like a snake in the grass. / Watch out for a snake in the grass who smiles to your face and lies behind your back.
Similar Expressions: Deceitful traitor / Hidden trickster
18. Play possum
Definition: To pretend to be asleep or injured to trick someone or avoid trouble.
Used in a Sentence: The clever cat played possum on the rug until the mouse walked right past. / When the teacher asked who made the noise, he played possum and stared straight ahead.
Similar Expressions: Pretend to be dead / Fake helplessness
19. Blow smoke
Definition: To boast or lie with fake claims to trick people into thinking you are impressive.
Used in a Sentence: He claims he can jump over a fence, but he is just blowing smoke. / Do not listen to his bragging, he is only blowing smoke.
Similar Expressions: Brag and lie / Empty boasting
20. Sell wolf tickets
Definition: To make fake threats or false boasts to trick people into backing down.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to sell wolf tickets about how strong he was, but nobody believed him. / Do not waste time selling wolf tickets when you know you cannot win the race.
Similar Expressions: Make false threats / Empty boasts
21. Put someone on
Definition: To trick or tease someone by pretending something false is real.
Used in a Sentence: Are you serious about winning the contest, or are you just putting me on? / He loved putting his younger sister on with silly stories about aliens.
Similar Expressions: Tease with lies / Fool someone
22. Pull a fast one on someone
Definition: To trick or deceive someone before they notice what you are doing.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to pull a fast one on the cashier by giving fake change. / Be careful when trading stickers so nobody pulls a fast one on you.
Similar Expressions: Trick quickly / Deceive slyly
23. Lead someone up the garden path
Definition: To trick someone into believing something completely false over time.
Used in a Sentence: The scam artist led the customers up the garden path with false promises of prizes. / Do not let tricky advertisements lead you up the garden path.
Similar Expressions: Mislead someone / Deceive slowly
24. A snow job
Definition: An overwhelming amount of false talk or flattery meant to trick someone.
Used in a Sentence: He gave the teacher a total snow job about why his project was missing. / Do not fall for his snow job of compliments when he wants to copy notes.
Similar Expressions: Flattery and lies / Overwhelming deception
25. Ride someone coat-tails
Definition: To trick or use someone else hard work to gain unearned success.
Used in a Sentence: He did zero work on our group presentation and just tried to ride my coat-tails. / Stop trying to ride other people coat-tails and write your own essay.
Similar Expressions: Free ride / Use someone success
26. Play a practical joke
Definition: To perform a physical trick on someone for comedic surprise.
Used in a Sentence: Putting a fake spider in the desk drawer was a funny practical joke. / He loves to play a practical joke on his friends during lunch.
Similar Expressions: Play a prank / Funny trick
27. Fake out
Definition: To trick an opponent in a game by making a false move.
Used in a Sentence: The basketball player faked out his defender with a quick left movement. / She faked out the goalie and scored an easy goal.
Similar Expressions: Trick in sports / False move
28. Pull the wool over
Definition: To successfully deceive someone eyes and mind regarding the truth.
Used in a Sentence: You cannot pull the wool over my eyes about eating the cookies. / He thought he pulled the wool over, but crumb trails gave him away.
Similar Expressions: Deceive vision / Hide truth
29. String someone along
Definition: To trick someone by giving them false hope about plans or feelings.
Used in a Sentence: He kept stringing his friend along about joining the club, never giving a clear answer. / Do not string people along if you do not want to play the game.
Similar Expressions: Lead on / False hope
30. Empty promises
Definition: Trickery involving vows of help or gifts that are never actually given.
Used in a Sentence: His promise to share his video game console turned out to be empty promises. / Do not trust empty promises from people who always lie.
Similar Expressions: Fake vows / Broken words
31. Pull a stunt
Definition: To do a tricky, surprising, or foolish action to fool people.
Used in a Sentence: The student pulled a stunt by walking into class wearing a disguise. / Do not pull any stunts during the school assembly.
Similar Expressions: Pull a trick / Risky prank
32. Bluff your way through
Definition: To trick people into thinking you know more than you actually do.
Used in a Sentence: He did not read the book, but tried to bluff his way through the report. / She managed to bluff her way through the trivia question with a lucky guess.
Similar Expressions: Fake knowledge / Pretend to know
33. Pull a rabbit out of a hat
Definition: To produce an unexpected trick or solution out of nowhere like a magician.
Used in a Sentence: When we needed extra supplies, she pulled a rabbit out of a hat and found markers. / Our team was losing until our star player pulled a rabbit out of a hat.
Similar Expressions: Magical trick / Surprising solution
34. Smoke screen
Definition: A deceptive action or statement created to hide your true motives.
Used in a Sentence: His excuse about being tired was just a smoke screen for being lazy. / The company used complex rules as a smoke screen to hide fees.
Similar Expressions: Deceptive cover / Hiding truth
35. Take for a mug
Definition: To trick or make a fool out of someone who trusts you.
Used in a Sentence: He thought he could take me for a mug by trading fake toy money. / Do not let dishonest peers take you for a mug.
Similar Expressions: Make a fool / Trick the trusting
36. Lead someone a merry dance
Definition: To trick someone into running around or working hard for no good reason.
Used in a Sentence: The mischievous puppy led us a merry dance all around the yard. / Finding my hidden keys turned out to lead me a merry dance.
Similar Expressions: Send on wild chase / Run around
37. Pull a fast one
Definition: To deceive someone quickly in a sneaky manner.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to pull a fast one by skipping his turn in line. / Watch the magician closely so he does not pull a fast one with the cards.
Similar Expressions: Quick trick / Sneaky cheat
38. A confidence trick
Definition: An elaborate scam designed to trick someone into trusting a liar.
Used in a Sentence: The fake prize email turned out to be a confidence trick to steal data. / Guard your personal information against confidence tricks online.
Similar Expressions: Scam / Elaborate lie
39. Pull a practical joke
Definition: To stage a funny physical trick that startles someone.
Used in a Sentence: Putting a whoopie cushion on the chair is a classic practical joke. / He pulled a practical joke by swapping the salt and sugar.
Similar Expressions: Funny prank / Staged trick
40. Trick or treat
Definition: A playful phrase used when demanding candy or playing a harmless prank.
Used in a Sentence: Children dress in costumes on Halloween and say trick or treat at doors. / We shouted trick or treat and received delicious chocolate bars.
Similar Expressions: Halloween phrase / Candy demand
41. Put someone on a wild goose chase
Definition: To trick someone into searching endlessly for something impossible to find.
Used in a Sentence: Sending me to look for a striped paintbrush was a wild goose chase. / He put his friends on a wild goose chase for his lost imaginary key.
Similar Expressions: Impossible search / Pointless errand
42. Sell a pup
Definition: To trick someone into buying something worthless disguised as valuable.
Used in a Sentence: The dishonest trader sold us a pup when the broken radio fell apart. / Be careful buying used items online so nobody sells you a pup.
Similar Expressions: Sell garbage / Fraudulent sale
43. Pull the wool
Definition: To blind someone to the truth with clever deception.
Used in a Sentence: He tried to pull the wool regarding who broke the lamp. / She saw right through his attempt to pull the wool.
Similar Expressions: Blind with lies / Deceive vision
44. Play a practical joke
Definition: To execute a physical prank that causes harmless surprise.
Used in a Sentence: Wrapping my school books in tin foil was a funny practical joke. / He loves to play practical jokes on his younger cousins.
Similar Expressions: Prankster trick / Silly joke
45. Pull a fast one on
Definition: To trick someone swiftly before they notice.
Used in a Sentence: She tried to pull a fast one on the teacher by turning in old work. / Do not let him pull a fast one on you during the trade.
Similar Expressions: Swift trick / Quick deception
46. Lead astray
Definition: To trick or guide someone into making bad choices or wrong paths.
Used in a Sentence: Bad friends tried to lead him astray from his study habits. / Do not let tricky advice lead you astray from the rules.
Similar Expressions: Misguide / Trick into trouble
47. Play for a fool
Definition: To treat someone like they are silly enough to believe your tricks.
Used in a Sentence: Do not play me for a fool, I know you took my colored pencils. / He tried to play his parents for a fool with a fake report card.
Similar Expressions: Treat as stupid / Mock trust
48. Pull a prank on
Definition: To execute a humorous trick on a friend.
Used in a Sentence: We decided to pull a prank on the counselor during camp. / Pulling a prank on your sibling requires good timing.
Similar Expressions: Practical joke / Funny stunt
49. Hoodwink
Definition: To deceive someone cleverly without them knowing.
Used in a Sentence: The clever scammer tried to hoodwink customers with fake coupons. / She hoodwinked her teacher into giving extra recess time.
Similar Expressions: Deceive / Trick slyly
50. Bamboozle
Definition: To baffle and trick someone through clever confusion.
Used in a Sentence: The tricky crossword puzzle completely bamboozled my dad. / He tried to bamboozle the guard with a fake ID badge.
Similar Expressions: Confuse / Baffle with tricks
Exercise to Practice
- Do not believe his crazy story about a flying dog, he is just pulling your leg.
- He tried to pull the wool over his parents eyes by saying his homework was finished, completing every single assignment perfectly ahead of time.
- He paid too much for the broken toy because the seller took him for a ride.
- The kids planned to play a trick on their brother by hiding his shoes, giving him brand new shoes as a generous birthday present.
- The salesman sold us a bill of goods when he claimed the broken bicycle worked fine.
- He promised to help with the project, but led me down the garden path and left.
- He tried to pull a fast one and trade me a fake rare card for my real one, handing over a genuine valuable treasure with honesty.
- The magician stage show was full of smoke and mirrors to hide how he did tricks.
- We decided to pull a prank on our art teacher by putting plastic frogs on her desk, helping her clean the classroom with great kindness.
- The pirate tried to hornswoggle the sailors out of their gold coins.
- The clever fox managed to hoodwink the farmer and steal the bread, sharing the meal politely at the kitchen table with the farmer family.
- The confusing riddle completely bamboozled the contestants on the quiz show.
- She pulled some strings to get us front-row seats for the school play.
- Do not believe his excuses, he is just feeding you a line about why he missed practice, telling absolute factual truth with supporting evidence.
- Agreeing to help and then canceling last minute pulled the rug out from under my plans.
Answer Key
- True
- False
- True
- False
- True
- True
- False
- True
- False
- True
- False
- True
- True
- False
- True
Conclusion
Learning these idioms helps you describe practical jokes, clever pranks, and tricking someone in a fun and colorful way. Instead of using plain words, you can paint a picture of deception with your descriptions. Try using a few of these helpful expressions the next time you talk about an April Fool joke or a magic show. It is a great way to grow your vocabulary and make your everyday stories sound alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are common idioms for tricking someone?
Common idioms often describe fooling friends or practical jokes, such as pull someone leg or pull the wool over someone eyes. These expressions help listeners visualize playful deception.
Why do we use idioms in English?
Idioms make our writing and speech more colorful, vivid, and engaging for others. Instead of just stating boring facts, we help people picture playful pranks and tricks clearly in their minds.
Can idioms describe scams and lies?
Yes, idioms can also describe dishonest behavior and false promises, such as take someone for a ride or empty promises. These expressions capture serious deceit.
How can I practice using idioms?
You can practice by reflecting on harmless pranks or magic tricks, then matching those moments to familiar phrases. Writing short stories about a funny April Fool joke is also a helpful practice tool.
Are idioms different from literal phrases?
Yes, idioms mean something different than the literal definitions of their individual words. Both are wonderful tools for creative and descriptive language.
