pull a fast one (on someone)

(redirected from I pulled a fast one on them)

pull a fast one (on someone)

To carry out a trick, deception, or practical joke (against someone). It turns out that the supposed alien visitors people had been seeing were just a bunch of teenagers pulling a fast one on the town. I've got a great plan to pull a fast one on the school for April Fools' Day. The fake article had been in print in the renowned scientific journal for more than a week before its author revealed that he had pulled a fast one.

See also: fast, one, pull

pull a fast one

Inf. to succeed in an act of deception. She was pulling a fast one when she said she had a headache and went home. Don't try to pull a fast one with me! I know what you're doing.

See also: fast, one, pull

pull a fast one

Also, put over a fast one. Engage in a deceitful practice or play an unfair trick. For example, He pulled a fast one when he gave me that fake employment record, or She tried to put over a fast one, but we found out in time to stop her. [Slang; c. 1920]

See also: fast, one, pull

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pull a fast one

INFORMAL

If someone pulls a fast one, they trick someone. The crowd obviously thought I was trying to pull a fast one to get a better seat. Note: You can also say that someone pulls a fast one on someone else. Someone had pulled a fast one on her and she was not going to let them get away with it.

See also: fast, one, pull

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

pull a fast one

try to gain an unfair advantage by rapid action of some sort. informal

This phrase was originally early 20th-century US slang and is also found as put over a fast one .

1993 What Mortgage We also know what prices should be and will pull up any builder trying to pull a fast one.

See also: fast, one, pull

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

pull a ˈfast one (on somebody)

(slang) tell lies or cheat somebody, for example in order to get their money, possessions, etc.; deceive somebody: Don’t try to pull a fast one on me. I’m not stupid, you know.

See also: fast, one, pull

pull a fast one

tv. to outwit or outsmart someone by a clever and timely maneuver. Don’t try to pull a fast one on me.

See also: fast, one, pull

pull a fast one

Informal

To play a trick or perpetrate a fraud.

See also: fast, one, pull

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pull a fast one, to

To execute an unfair trick. This slangy Americanism dates from about 1920. A. Gilbert was one of many popular novelists to use it (Death Against the Clock, 1958): “Mad to think they can pull a fast one.”