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to do a little trolling

to do a little trolling

8.7
To annoy people online a little on purpose to make them react for fun
  • phrasal verb
  • Slang
translation icon : hacer un poco de trolling
  • Occasionally, he likes to do a little trolling in comment sections just to see people's reactions.

Examples

  • They sometimes do a little trolling on social media for entertainment.

  • She admitted she would do a little trolling when she was bored at work.

  • Don't do a little trolling on social media!

  • I love to do a little trolling during my free time.

  • Occasionally, he likes to do a little trolling in comment sections just to see people's reactions.

  • She admitted she would do a little trolling when she was bored at work.

  • They sometimes do a little trolling on social media for entertainment.

Synonyms

to troll
vsto do a little trolling
  • Offensive
35 6.8

To post messages to annoy or upset people online

is lighter and more playful rather than strongly offensive or hostile
to poke fun
vsto do a little trolling
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

is aimed at provoking reaction online rather than gentle teasing
to play pranks
vsto do a little trolling
4 3.1

Do small tricks to surprise or make someone laugh

uses online messages to provoke amusement rather than physical trickery
to make game of
vsto do a little trolling
  • Offensive
8.0

Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke

is playful provocation for fun rather than dismissive or deeply disrespectful

Antonyms

962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

How Harmful

doxing
  • Offensive
9.6
to harass
302 4.0
to troll
  • Offensive
35 6.8
to do a little trolling
  • Slang
8.7
to tease
245 1.9
to joke around
  • Informal
40 2.4

Surface Forms

done a little trolling past participle
doing a little trolling present participle
does a little trolling third person singular

Morphology

do + a + little + trolling

The meaning is directly compositional: 'do' (perform) + 'a little' (a small amount) + 'trolling' (the activity of posting provocative messages) yields 'perform a small amount of trolling'. This follows a common verb + quantifier + noun pattern and is readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words, so the expression is transparent.

Etymology

Do a little trolling comes from a fishing image: one popular story says the word 'troll' meant dragging bait behind a boat to catch fish. Online, people leave a small bait message and wait for others to 'bite', so trolling means 'to provoke or annoy' people for fun.