🗓️ Idiom: Play a Prank on Someone (verb)
💬 Meaning
- To trick or joke with someone in a playful way.
- Usually done to make people laugh, not to hurt anyone.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The interns played a prank on their manager by swapping his coffee with decaf.
- During April Fool’s Day, our team always plays a prank on someone in the office.
- It’s fine to play a prank on someone, as long as it’s light-hearted and not offensive.
🏛️ Origin
The word prank comes from the Dutch word pronken, meaning “to show off.” In the 16th century, it came to mean playful or mischievous behaviour. Over time, playing a prank became a common phrase for making a joke or tricking someone in a fun way.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The team decided to ________ their boss by decorating his office with balloons.
Answer
play a prank on
2. Choose the correct answer:
What does it mean to “play a prank on someone”?
a) To work hard together on a project
b) To make a serious complaint
c) To joke or trick someone in a playful way
Answer
c) To joke or trick someone in a playful way
3. Change the sentence using “play a prank on someone”:
“They tricked the new employee in a funny way during his first week.”
Answer
They played a prank on the new employee during his first week.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
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👉 Idioms for Humour in the Workplace
👉 Business English Idioms List
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
