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

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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

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 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

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

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

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

pull someone’s chain

verb

See yank someone’s chain

See also: chain, pull

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.