Your friend rushes up to you with a serious face and announces that your favourite café is closing down for good. Your heart sinks — and then he bursts out laughing. Relax. He was trying to pull someone’s leg: yours. This little phrase confuses a lot of English learners, because nobody’s leg is actually involved. So what does it really mean, where does it come from, and how can you use it without sounding odd? Let’s walk through it together, with plenty of real examples along the way.
Quick Meaning
To pull someone’s leg means to joke with someone by telling them something that is not true, in a playful and friendly way. The idea is that they believe you for a few seconds, then realise it was a joke and laugh about it with you.
Merriam-Webster defines it in almost the same words: to make someone believe something that is not true, as a joke. Short, simple, and very common in everyday English.
What Does “Pull Someone’s Leg” Mean?
When you pull someone’s leg, you say something untrue and watch them fall for it — just for a moment. The untruth is never serious. It might be a made-up story, a fake piece of news, or a wild claim delivered with a perfectly straight face.
The magic ingredient is the reveal. After a few seconds, you smile, you laugh, or you say “I’m only joking,” and the other person groans and laughs too. If there’s no reveal and no shared laugh, it isn’t leg-pulling anymore — it’s just lying, and that’s a very different thing.
Notice the pattern: the story is always harmless, the belief lasts only a moment, and the joke ends the second you reveal it. A friend insisting the teacher has moved the deadline, a flatmate swearing there’s a spider behind you — small stakes, quick punchline. The bigger and scarier the claim, the less it belongs to this idiom.
Collins English Dictionary describes the phrase as teasing or fooling someone, especially in a playful manner. That word “playful” is the heart of it. The joke is gentle, the other person is in on the fun within moments, and nobody gets hurt.
You’ll hear this idiom constantly in films, sitcoms, and everyday chat, right alongside other favourites like speak of the devil. Native speakers use it so naturally that they rarely stop to think how strange it sounds — legs, pulling, jokes? There’s no logic to it, and that’s exactly why learners deserve a clear, friendly guide like this one.
The Origin of “Pull Someone’s Leg”
Here’s the honest answer: nobody knows exactly where this phrase comes from. It shows up in print in the late 1800s, but its true beginning was never written down, and dictionaries are careful not to pretend otherwise.
One popular story links it to street crime in old London. Thieves supposedly tripped their victims — literally pulling at their legs — to knock them down and rob them. It’s a vivid tale, but there’s no solid proof connecting it to the modern meaning of joking with someone.
Another idea is much simpler: playful teasing. Friends have always grabbed, nudged, and tripped each other as a joke, and “pulling someone’s leg” may have started as a light physical prank before it became a verbal one. Again, it’s a guess, not a fact.
So be careful with any website that gives you one confident origin story. The truthful version is that the origin is uncertain — and that’s perfectly fine. The meaning today is crystal clear, even if its birthday isn’t.
How to Use “Pull Someone’s Leg”
The phrase fits relaxed, friendly conversation — much like break the ice, it belongs with people you know and like. You can say “pull my leg,” “pulling his leg,” “pulled her leg,” and so on. The verb changes with the tense; the “leg” part never does.
Friendly Jokes. This is home ground for the idiom. Friends pull each other’s legs about football results, exam scores, surprise parties, and who ate the last biscuit. Keep the story small and harmless, keep a straight face, and reveal the joke quickly — the laugh is the whole point. Timing matters more than cleverness, too. Pull the leg, watch the face change, and give the game away while the moment is still funny — ten seconds is plenty. Leave someone believing a fib all afternoon, and the same joke lands very differently when it finally comes out.
At Work and School. A light leg-pull can work with colleagues and classmates too, as long as the topic is safe. “The boss wants everyone’s reports by tonight” might raise a smile on a Friday. But never joke about jobs, money, health, or anything that could genuinely worry someone. If a joke could ruin a person’s day, it has crossed the line.
How to Respond When Someone Pulls Your Leg. Sooner or later, you’ll be on the receiving end. The classic, perfect reply is: “You’re pulling my leg!” Say it with a laugh and you’ve handled it like a native speaker. Other good options are “No way — really?”, “I almost believed you!”, and “Okay, you got me.” Groaning and shaking your head are optional, but highly traditional.
10 Example Sentences
Reading examples is where an idiom really clicks. Go through these ten, and this phrase will soon feel like a piece of cake:
- Don’t worry, I’m only pulling your leg — the shop isn’t really closing.
- When Tom said he’d met the president, I knew straight away he was pulling my leg.
- She pulled my leg about the exam results, and I believed her for a full minute.
- “Wait, you’re moving to Japan?” “Ha! I’m just pulling your leg.”
- My brother loves pulling my leg about my terrible cooking.
- Are you serious, or are you pulling my leg again?
- He tried to pull the teacher’s leg by saying the dog had eaten everyone’s homework.
- I can’t pull Sarah’s leg — she spots every joke straight away.
- Grandad pulled our legs with a story about fighting a bear in the garden.
- Stop pulling my leg and tell me what really happened!
“Pull Someone’s Leg” vs Similar Expressions
English has a whole family of expressions about joking and teasing, and learners often mix them up. Here’s how the closest cousins compare:
| Expression | What it means | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Pull someone’s leg | Tell someone something untrue as a joke, then reveal it | Gentle and friendly |
| Tease someone | Joke about someone or make playful comments — broader than leg-pulling | Usually friendly, can sting |
| Wind someone up (British) | Deliberately annoy or excite someone for fun | Cheekier, sometimes irritating |
| Kid / joke around | Speak jokingly; “I’m just kidding” needs no fake story at all | Neutral and casual |
The key difference is the made-up story. Leg-pulling needs one: a small, believable untruth that gets revealed. Teasing can be just a comment, and kidding can be pure nonsense said with a grin. And none of these is the same as beating around the bush, which means avoiding saying what you really mean — no joke involved there at all.
Common Mistakes
Taking it literally. Nobody is touching anyone’s leg. If someone tells you “I’m pulling your leg,” check their hands — they’ll be empty, and the person will probably be smiling.
Using it for cruel lies. The idiom only works for playful jokes. A lie designed to hurt, frighten, or trick someone out of money is not leg-pulling, and calling it that won’t make it sound any nicer.
Dropping the ‘s. It’s always “pull someone’s leg,” with the apostrophe and the s — not “pull someone leg.” In practice, you’ll mostly use a pronoun or a name instead: pull my leg, pull Sarah’s leg, pull the teacher’s leg.
Forgetting the reveal. If you never let the person in on the joke, you haven’t pulled their leg — you’ve just deceived them. The reveal is part of the idiom’s recipe.
Quick Practice
Let’s see if it has sunk in. Try these three:
1. Your friend says, with a straight face, “The match has been cancelled” — then laughs as you panic. What was she doing? a) beating around the bush b) pulling your leg c) breaking the ice
2. Which sentence is correct? a) “Stop pulling my leg!” b) “Stop pull my leg now please.”
3. True or false: Pulling someone’s leg means telling a hurtful lie and never admitting it.
Answers: 1) b — a playful untruth with a reveal is classic leg-pulling. 2) a — you need the -ing form after “stop,” and it’s “my leg,” not “pull my leg.” 3) False — leg-pulling is gentle and always comes with the reveal; a hurtful, hidden lie is just lying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “pull someone’s leg” a friendly expression?
Yes, it’s friendly — as long as the joke stays kind. The other person should end up laughing with you, not feeling stupid. If your “joke” upsets someone and they can’t laugh it off, it has gone too far, and a quick apology is the right next move.
Can I use “pull someone’s leg” at work or in formal writing?
It’s informal, so it’s best kept for conversation with friends and relaxed colleagues. In formal writing, a report, or a serious email, choose a plainer word like “joking” or “teasing” instead. Your meaning will land better, and you’ll sound more professional.
What’s the difference between “pull someone’s leg” and “make fun of someone”?
Making fun of someone points at the person — their looks, their mistakes, or their habits — and it can easily be unkind. Pulling someone’s leg points at a made-up story instead, and the person is quickly let in on the joke. That small difference is what keeps leg-pulling gentle.
Is “pull someone’s leg” British or American?
Both. It’s understood all over the English-speaking world, in everyday speech and on TV, which makes it a safe idiom to learn early. Its cheekier cousin, “wind someone up,” is the one that sounds more specifically British.
How can I tell if someone is pulling my leg?
Look for clues: a story that sounds slightly too dramatic, a face that is fighting back a smile, or friends nearby who are already grinning. And when in doubt, just ask — “Are you pulling my leg?” works every single time.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it: a small, friendly trick played with words — a made-up story, a straight face, and a laugh at the end. Next time a friend tells you something that sounds a little too dramatic to be true, you won’t be fooled for long. You might even pull a leg or two yourself. Keep it kind, keep it short, and always give the game away with a smile, and you’ll have a phrase that works in almost any friendly conversation — at home, in class, or over coffee with friends who really should know you better by now.
Want to keep going? Our Idiom Finder helps you look up the meaning of any common English idiom in seconds — bookmark it for the next strange phrase that trips you up.
Now, over to you: has anyone ever pulled your leg so well that you believed every single word? What did they say — and how long did it take you to catch on? Tell us in the comments!