pull
1. noun A long sip or swig, especially one of alcohol from a bottle or flask. The old man took a long pull of whiskey, then flashed a toothless grin and began laughing again.
2. noun An inhalation or mouthful of smoke. I know I quit smoking, but let me just get a quick pull off your cigarette.
3. verb To take a long sip or swig, especially one of alcohol from a bottle or flask. He pulled long and hard from the bottle of hooch.
4. verb To inhale or take in a mouthful of smoke. I know I quit smoking, but let me just pull off your cigarette real quick.
5. verb To act as if one is punching someone, without making physical contact. (Short for «pull one’s punches.») How dare you—I have never pulled during a fight in my entire career!
pull (one’s) punches
1. To act as if one is punching someone, without making any or much physical contact. How dare you—I have never pulled my punches during a fight in my entire career! I know you’re trying to make the scene realistic, but please pull your punches next time!
2. By extension, to restrain one’s commentary or criticism to avoid offending or upsetting someone. (Usually used in the negative.) I want your honest opinion of my story—don’t pull your punches! Wow, your aunt really doesn’t pull her punches. Is my sweatshirt really that ugly?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
pull
1. n. a drink; a swig; a drink from a flask. He took another pull and kept on talking.
2. tv. to take a drink or a mouthful of liquor from a bottle or other container. He pulled a slug from the bottle.
3. n. a mouthful of smoke from a cigarette; a drag on a cigarette. A couple of pulls and she crushed out the cigarette.
4. tv. to smoke a cigarette. He pulled a long filter job and then went back to work.
5. in. to pull one’s punches. (Martial arts.) If you pull during a fight, you’re through as a fighter.
McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
by Liz Walter
There are a surprising number of commonly used idioms that contain the verb ‘pull’. This post will look at some of the most useful ones.
Let’s start with the idiom in the title. If you accuse someone of pulling your leg, you mean that you believe they are teasing you by saying something that isn’t true. If we think that someone is teasing us in that way, we might say ‘Pull the other leg/one!’, or even the longer version ‘Pull the other one – it’s got bells on!’. This shows that we don’t believe them.
She’s just pulling your leg – she doesn’t really expect you to do all the cooking.
You have a pet lion? Pull the other one!
We use ‘pull’ in several idioms connected with people making an effort and doing what they should do. If someone pulls their weight, they do their share of the work and if you pull out all the stops, you make as much effort as possible to ensure that something is successful or impressive.
Anyone who doesn’t pull their weight will have to leave the project.
They pulled out all the stops to make sure the president enjoyed his visit.
On the other hand, if someone tells you to pull your socks up, they are saying in an angry way that you should do something better.
You need to pull your socks up and start taking your studies a bit more seriously!
There are two nice ‘pull’ idioms connected with stopping things. If you pull the plug on an activity, you stop it, often by not spending any more money on it, and if you pull the rug from under someone’s feet, you suddenly stop supporting them or do something that causes serious problems for them:
They decided to pull the plug on their latest venture after disappointing sales in the first year.
We were planning a surprise party for their anniversary but they pulled the rug from under our feet by announcing they were going away on a cruise.
If you say that someone didn’t pull their punches, or didn’t pull any punches, you mean that they say something in a very direct way, without trying to be kind or tactful:
She told me exactly what she thought of my novel and she didn’t pull any punches.
And finally – a rather painful image! – if you say that doing something is like pulling teeth, you mean that it is very difficult and often slow to do:
Getting my boss to agree to any change is like pulling teeth.
I hope that learning these useful idioms won’t be like pulling teeth, so try to pull out all the stops to learn them!
What does ‘pull’ mean?
The word ‘pull’ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to use force on a person or object to make it move towards oneself.
For example:
- Stop pulling my hair.
Pull is a regular verb. The past tense and past participle is pulled.
idiomatic phrasal verbs
Did you know phrasal verbs are sometimes used in idioms? See if you can spot any. If you don’t know any phrasal verbs with ‘pull’, click here to learn them.
- pull a fast one – deceive/trick someone
e.g. The shopkeeper pulled a fast one. I paid for an expensive perfume, but he gave me a cheap one. - pull a rabbit out of the hat – suddenly do something clever
e.g. England will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat if they want to win the FIFA World Cup this year. - pull a sickie – pretend to be ill to get out of doing something (especially work)
e.g. Johnny isn’t sick. I saw him playing rugby earlier, he’s pulling a sickie. - pull one’s finger out – stop wasting time and start working/concentrating
e.g. Logan has pulled his finger out and is working to support his child. - pull one’s socks up – start making an effort to improve
e.g. If Caitlyn doesn’t pull her socks up, social services will take away her children. - pull one’s weight – do one’s fair share of the work
e.g. If Damien doesn’t start pulling his weight, I’ll evict him. - pull out all the stops put in a great amount of effort
e.g. Angela will have to pull out all the stops if she wants to win the election. - pull punches – be less severe/violent
e.g. Give me your honest opinion, don’t pull punches. - pull someone’s leg – playfully joke/tease someone
e.g. You’re pregnant? Please tell me you’re pulling my leg. - pull the plug – stop something happening/continuing
e.g. My landlord pulled the plug on my poker nights. The neighbours started complaining.
Let’s see these idioms with pictures and meaning using real-life scenarios.
Psst…
Hey, did you know the verb ‘pull’ has many phrasal verbs. Since you like idioms and phrases, you obviously want to improve your fluency and speak like a native.
Am I right?
I thought you might like to learn the phrasal verbs with ‘pull’ too. They are very common in informal English and great to know/be able to understand if you happen to be speaking to a native. We use them all the time, like literally ALL the time.
about one’s ears
around one’s ears
bring down about one’s ears
bring down around one’s ears
pull down about one’s ears
pull down around one’s ears
To or into complete collapse, defeat, or ruin; to the destruction of a person’s plans, hopes, or happiness.
They planned to have factories all over the world but the war brought their plans down about their ears.
John hoped to go to college and become a great scientist some day, but when his father died he had to get a job, and John’s dreams came crashing around his ears.
boot strap
by one’s own bootstraps
drag oneself up by one’s bootstraps
pull oneself up by the bootstraps
pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps
To succeed without help; succeed by your own efforts.
He had to pull himself up by the bootstraps.
haul in
haul up
pull in
To bring before someone in charge for punishment or questioning; arrest.
John was hauled in to court for speeding.
The tramp was hauled up for sleeping on the sidewalk.
long face
pull a long face
A sad look; disappointed look. Often used in the phrase pull a long face.
He told the story with a long face.
Don’t pull a long face when I tell you to go to bed.
long haul
long pull
A long distance or trip.
It is a long haul to drive across the country.
A long length of time during which work continues or something is done; a long time of trying. Often used in the phrase over the long haul.
A boy crippled by polio may learn to walk again, but it may be a long haul.
Over the long haul, an expensive pair of shoes may save you money.
pull a fast one
To gain the advantage over one’s opponent unfairly; deceive; trick.
When Smith was told by his boss that he might be fired, he called the company president, his father-in-law, and pulled a fast one by having his boss demoted.
pull date
The date stamped on baked goods, dairy products, or other perishable foods indicating the last day on which they may be sold before they must be removed from the shelves in a retail store.
This pie is way past the pull date — small wonder it’s rotten.
pull down
To catch (a ball) after a hard run.
The outfielder pulled down a long drive to center field.
To earn.
Mr. Blake pulls down $500 a week.
John pulled down an A in algebra by studying hard.
The theme for this week’s English expressions and idioms is ‘pull’. Can you think of any others to add to the list?
pull a fast one
Meaning: to trick someone
Example: That criminal pulled a fast one and ran off with my money.
pull the plug
Meaning: to stop giving assistance or support
Example: I think it’s time to pull the plug on this project. Let’s cease our funding.
pull your weight
Meaning: to do a sufficient amount of work (especially as part of a group)
Example: Dave really isn’t pulling his weight. He’s so lazy.
pull (something) off
Meaning: to succeed in doing something
Example: I didn’t believe he would manage to won the competition but he pulled it off.
pull your socks up
Meaning: to improve your performance
Example: Your work has been terrible recently. You really need to pull your socks up.
pull through
Meaning: to survive
Example: After a long struggle with cancer, she finally pulled through and recovered.
Today’s image is by Michal Zacharzewski.