to play a trick on
6
2.8
- phrasal verb
:
hacer una trampa a
- He loves to play a trick on his siblings during the holidays.
- said, "play a trick on him,"
Because there were moments where my mind would almost begin to, in a way, play a trick on me and begin to try and create reasons to feel bad or to try and create shame.
- Because there were moments where my mind would almost begin to, in a way, play a trick on me and begin to try and create reasons to feel bad or to try and create shame.
Examples
-
In November, Ned and Emily were invited to the Dorsets' party, and because they dreaded it, they decided to play a trick on everyone concerned—even on themselves, as it turned out.
Fiction book (1996) -
My brothers are playing a trick on me.
Fiction book (2000) -
Now, why would I want to play a trick on you?
-
Are you gonna play a trick on me?
-
Maybe he was playing a trick on everybody.
-
Not long ago, we played a trick on Cole.
-
Look, Officer, these little devils did play a trick on me.
-
When the train stops, we'll play a trick on old Kenny.
-
"Wait—let's play a trick on him," said the first troll, chuckling.
Fiction book (1997) -
We decided to play a trick on our friend for April Fool's Day.
Synonyms
704
2.1
To trick someone into believing something that is not true
326
3.5
To make someone believe something false so you can get what you want
270
3.9
To make someone believe something that is not true to get an advantage
19
7.2
To trick someone, often as a joke
16
2.9
To play a trick on someone to make people laugh
15
3.0
To make someone believe something that is not true as a joke
11
8.3
To trick someone by pretending you want to help them
7
7.4
Treat someone as stupid to trick or cheat them
5
3.2
To trick someone in a friendly way to make them laugh
5
8.1
To trick someone to gain an advantage
4
3.1
Do small tricks to surprise or make someone laugh
4
7.8
To make someone believe something that is not true
4
7.9
To trick someone into believing something false
3
8.4
Make someone look silly in front of other people by tricking or embarrassing them
3
8.8
To trick someone so they cannot succeed
3
6.0
Pretend to be a person or website online to trick people
2
4.5
To trick people into believing something false
1
8.1
To trick someone by being clever to gain advantage
1
9.5
To trick someone by using clever talk
1
8.7
To make a playful joke or trick someone to make them laugh
Make someone believe something false to trick them
To trick someone as a joke
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to deceive or mislead someone' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'play' (to perform/act), 'trick' (a deceitful act), and the preposition 'on' marking the target. This verb + noun + preposition pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Play a trick on comes from the image of a small performance: someone plays a short act and uses a clever trick to surprise or fool another person, like hiding a toy to make a friend laugh. So, it came to mean 'to deceive or fool someone', often as a joke.