pull someone's chain

pull (one's) chain

To tease one, often by trying to convince them of something that isn't true. Quit pulling my chain, I know there isn't a Hollywood director calling me right now. I love pulling my sister's chain—it's almost too easy to fool her.

See also: chain, pull

pull someone's chain

1. Make someone speak out of turn, as in Who pulled your chain?-It's none of your business. [1920s]

2. Make someone angry, especially deliberately, as in Teenagers really know how to pull their parents' chains. [c. 1960] Both usages allude to the literal sense of chain-pulling, that is, "causing someone to do something, as though activated by a chain."

See also: chain, pull

pull someone's chain

or

yank someone's chain

AMERICAN, INFORMAL

If you pull someone's chain or yank their chain, you tease them about something, for example by telling them something which is not true. I glared at her, and she smiled. When would I learn to smarten up and ignore her when she pulled my chain? Note: The image here is of someone teasing a dog by pulling the chain that it is tied up with.

See also: chain, pull

pull (or yank) someone's chain

tease someone, especially by leading them to believe something that isn't true. US informal

See also: chain, pull