to pull off
301
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /pʊl ɔf/
:
lograr
- Evidently, evidently, he pulled off the perfect crime.
- pull off an attack
And he's really trying to pull off a balance ticket.
- And he's really trying to pull off a balance ticket.
- I have none but like to pull off a scheme like this.
- But like I could never pull that off, you know, So I don't try.
- It's the what if I can pull off a miracle?
- And if he doesn't pull it off, him and Jake can fight.
- If your eyes look spectacular, great, you can pull off a truly beige lip.
- That's a hard stunt to pull off and it's a hell of a demand.
- Don't know if I can pull this off, but let's just see.
- Bloody hell if I managed to actually pull off this video, I swear.
Examples
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You really think we can pull this off?
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With careful planning and teamwork, we managed to pull off the surprise party for her birthday.
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Quite a crowd, but you pulled it off all right now.
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But you know, hey, maybe they can pull it off, but this sounds crazy.
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Yeah, only you would figure out how to pull that off, right?
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If you pull this off, you could save the city.
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I'm not the person I need to be to pull this off yet, but I'll learn.
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But to pull it off, we're gonna need a pretty sweet diversion.
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"Many don't have a clue how to pull this off," Miller says.
Academic text (2010) -
I don't know how you did it, hoss, but you pulled it off.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
∞
3.2
To do something difficult, often with little help
2
5.3
To do something difficult successfully and with skill
2
4.9
To get something with great effort
1
6.1
To succeed in doing something difficult
Produce a surprising idea that solves a difficult problem
Antonyms
How Successful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense of 'succeed in doing something difficult' can be linked to 'pull' (exert effort) plus 'off' (completion/removal), so there is a plausible compositional/metaphorical connection. However, the specific meaning 'manage to accomplish' is a figurative extension of the literal parts and is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure; thus it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pull off meaning 'to succeed in doing something difficult' comes from the image of someone managing a hard trick or plan and literally 'pulling it off'—making it happen. So if you pull off something, you have managed to do it against the odds.