Meaning & use
pulling leg
Last updated
UK/ˌpʊlɪŋ ˈleɡ/
US/ˌpʊlɪŋ ˈleɡ/
Meaning
phraseidiom
Teasing someone by saying something untrue as a joke.
Grammar: Usually used in the progressive: 'I'm pulling your leg.' The full idiom is 'pull someone's leg'.
Patterns
- pull someone's leg
- be pulling someone's leg
Don't worry, I was only pulling your leg about the exam being canceled.
She's always pulling his leg about his terrible cooking.
Are you serious, or are you pulling my leg?
Common combinations
- just pulling your leg
- Relax, I'm just pulling your leg.
- only pulling your leg
- I was only pulling your leg about the surprise party.
- stop pulling my leg
- Stop pulling my leg and tell me the truth.
- be pulling someone's leg
- He's always pulling someone's leg at work.
Synonyms and how they differ
- joking
- More general; you can be joking without specifically teasing someone.
- teasing
- Focuses on making fun of someone playfully, which is what pulling someone's leg does.
- kidding
- Informal and very close in meaning, but often used in fixed phrases like 'just kidding'.
Opposites
being serious
Commonly confused: pulling leg or pulling your weight?
pulling leg vs pulling your weight
This means doing your fair share of work, not joking.
Practice
Choose the correct completion: 'I didn't mean to upset you; I was only ___ your leg.'
Choose one answer.
The idiom uses the -ing form after 'was': 'was pulling your leg'. The other forms do not fit the continuous tense needed here.
Make it your own
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