Language Activator – Trick

Trick/con/deceive/fool/mislead/lead on

trick

to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something

.I realized then that I had been tricked, but it was too late

trick somebody into doing something

.The old man’s sons had tricked him into signing the papers

trick somebody out of something

:take something from someone by tricking them

.A man posing as an insurance agent tricked her out of thousands of dollars

con

:informal to trick someone

.He was trying to con me, and I knew it

con somebody into doing something

.They conned the school district into buying the property

con somebody out of something

:take something from someone by tricking them

.She conned me out of $50

deceive

especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true because it is useful for you if they believe it

.This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public

deceive somebody into doing something

.Thousands of home buyers were deceived into buying homes at inflated prices

deceive yourself

.If you think that everyone is happy with the plan, you’re deceiving yourself

fool

:to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick

.His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone

fool somebody into doing something

.They managed to fool the police into thinking they had left the country

have somebody fooled

.The brothers’ act had us all fooled

you can’t fool me

.You can’t fool me – I know he’s already given you the money

fool yourself

.Maybe I was just fooling myself, but I really thought he liked me

mislead

to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true

.The report is a deliberate and obvious attempt to mislead

mislead somebody into doing something

Agents are accused of misleading clients into signing up for savings plans that were actually insurance policies

set somebody up / set somebody

:to trick someone into doing something that they will be punished for or embarrassed by

.He said, following his arrest last fall, that the FBI had set him up

.Terry and Donald think I set them up, but it’s all a big misunderstanding

put one over on

to deceive someone, especially someone who is cleverer than you are, or someone who is not easily deceived

!That’s the last time he puts one over on me

Lawyers claim that the tobacco industry, by failing to tell everything it knew about smoking, was putting one over on its customers

pull the wool over somebody’s eyes

:to deceive someone, usually by hiding some facts or information

.Don’t try and pull the wool over my eyes – I can tell you’ve been smoking

.The politicians are just trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes again

lead somebody on

to make someone believe you and trust you, especially by making them think you are romantically interested in them

?I can’t tell if he really cares about me or if he’s just leading me on

take somebody for a ride

:to deceive someone, especially so that you can get their money

.I’d already given him £50 when I realized he was taking me for a ride

.After the deal was signed, I felt like I’d been taken for a ride

double-cross

to cheat someone you pretended to be helping or working with, especially by helping their enemies

.I’m warning you – if you double-cross me, I’ll kill you

.Harry and Danny double-crossed the gang and escaped with all the money

dupe

to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it

.The spies duped government and military officials alike

dupe somebody into doing something

The perpetrators of the hoax managed to dupe respectable journalists into printing their story

:Practice

: Fill in the blanks with appropriate words

.N1. They were accused of …………..customers about the nutritional value of their product ………….N2. Many children’s lies are unplanned and not actually designed to N3. All through the summer Paula was ………….her husband while she was seeing another man .N4. I’m not trying to ………..you – just answer the question .N5. I didn’t mean to …………..Cassie on, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings either

:Answers

Misleading/ Deceive/ Deceiving/ Trick/ lead