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pull someone's leg

idiom

Formspulls someone's leg, pulling someone's leg, pulled someone's leg

2 meanings of pull someone's leg

Practice

  1. 1
    idiom
    To tease or trick someone by telling a funny lie, just for fun.

    Like telling a friend a silly story that isn't true, just to see them believe it for a moment.

    Don't pull my leg. Did the dog really eat your homework?

    He kept pulling my leg about winning a free trip to the moon.

    Similartease, kid, fool, josh, rib

    Note
  2. 2
    idiomobsolete
    To get money out of someone, often by tricking them.
    The verb 'to-pull-his-leg' means to extract from his pocket all the lucre it will yield.
    1893, John Kendrick Bangs, Coffee and ReparteeHere, to pull his leg means to get money out of him.
    "I would 'pull his leg,' but Laura will not work with me." The expression "pulling his leg," Miss Sullivan explained as meaning to coax or wheedle his wealth out of him.
    1895, Reports of Decisions in ProbateHere, pull his leg means to get money from him by coaxing or tricking.
    Note

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Origin

This phrase comes from Scotland. It first meant to make a fool of someone. One idea is that it came from tripping someone by pulling their leg to make them stumble.