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Charles Li 5315 Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

"Pull a prank on somebody"

I notice that native speakers like to use the verb pull in idioms, such as "pull a prank", "pull a fast one" and "pull this on you". What I don't understand is why this verb. To me, "pull" just indicates the action that you draw something near you with hands. Do native speakers have other connotation for this word? Any example?
  

Top answer

Idioms cannot easily be explained. "Pull" as a verb has many meanings, many phrasal forms, and also it is used in many idioms. com/pull

— AlpheccaStars

  • Idioms cannot easily be explained.
  • "Pull" as a verb has many meanings, many phrasal forms, and also it is used in many idioms.
  • com/pull
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2 Answers
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Idioms cannot easily be explained. "Pull" as a verb has many meanings, many phrasal forms, and also it is used in many idioms.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pull
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The verb "pull" generally has less-than-positive connotations, for example: drawing with great effort something of substantial weight with a rope, under-the-table influence (as a noun), mischievous phrases such as "pull someone's hair" and "pull an article someone's clothing down," etc. Thus, when it appears in an idiom, the idiom is typically a negative one.
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