April Fools'
7
2.6
- noun
- /ˈeɪprəl fuːlz/
:
Día de los Inocentes
- Every year, friends play tricks on each other to celebrate April Fools' Day.
- April Fools' Day
Examples
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In fact, on April 1, 1997 (the so-called "Great April Fools' Day Comics Switcheroonie"), forty-six artists decided to exchange their strips and have characters from one strip walk into the others.
Academic text (2014) -
Over here, on April Fools' Day... it's a custom to pin a fish on people, you know?
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Did I miss April Fools' Day or something?
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It's April Fools' Day, you know.
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Or option three: we can just both agree that this is all an insane April Fools' joke!
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April Fools' Day ends at noon.
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On April Fools' Day, the Rafkin kids were late to school.
Fiction book (1993) -
Conrail was created by the US government on April Fools' Day, 1976.
Blog text (29) -
It was April Fools' Day of 1921.
Fiction book (1994) -
April Fools' Day is celebrated each year on April Fools' Day with various practical jokes.
Synonyms
3
2.0
A day on the first of April when people play jokes on others
2
3.1
A day on the first of April when people play jokes on others
Surface Forms
Morphology
April + Fools'
The phrase transparently combines 'April' and 'fools', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a day in April associated with fools or joking. However, the specific convention—that it is observed on April 1 and involves playing practical jokes and hoaxes—is cultural knowledge not strictly predictable from the constituents, so full understanding requires prior exposure.
Etymology
One popular story says the tradition of April Fools' comes from an old calendar mix-up: when some people moved New Year's Day from April 1 to January 1, those who kept celebrating on April 1 were mocked as 'fools'. So today April Fools' is the day for playing 'pranks' and jokes.