Definition

1. Idiom (Verb phrase):
   • To deceive someone, to trick someone by hiding the truth: This idiom means to deliberately mislead or fool someone, often by creating a false impression or hiding one's true intentions.

Usage

• This idiom is used to describe an act of deception where the deceiver successfully makes someone believe something that is not true.
• It often implies the deception is clever, sustained, or involves flattery or false appearances.
• It is typically used in informal contexts.

Examples

• (The salesman tried to deceive me about the car's accident history.)
• (Don't let him trick you with his charming stories.)
• (She realized too late that her partner had been deceiving her for months.)

Advanced Usage

• The idiom can be used in various tenses by conjugating the verb "pull."
  • He is pulling the wool over their eyes. (Present Continuous)
  • They had pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. (Past Perfect)
• It can be used in the passive voice, though this is less common.
  • For years, the public had the wool pulled over its eyes by the corrupt officials. (The public was deceived for years by the corrupt officials.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bamboozle (verb): To confuse or deceive someone. (From the reference context: "He bamboozled his professors...")
• Hoodwink (verb): To deceive or trick someone.
• Deceive (verb): To cause someone to believe something that is not true.
• Take in (phrasal verb): To deceive or cheat someone.

Synonyms

• Deceive
• Trick
• Fool
• Mislead
• Hoodwink
• Bamboozle

Related Idioms

• Lead someone down the garden path: To deceive someone, especially over a long period.
  • He led investors down the garden path with false promises.
• Pull a fast one (on someone): To trick or deceive someone.
  • I think the competitor pulled a fast one on us during the negotiation.
• Put one over on someone: To successfully deceive someone.
  • The magician really put one over on the audience with that trick.

Verb

1. conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end
   • He bamboozled his professors into thinking that he knew the subject well