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Angliholic Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

trick/cheat/deceive/fool his friends

Dandy isried some a young male chimpanzee at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Center ... The scientists had buried some grapefruit in the sand. Dandy knew where the grapefruit was, but when the other chimps were in the area, he pretended that he did not know the location. Later, when the other chimps fell asleep, he went right to the spot where the grapefruit was hidden, dug it up, and ate it.
Amazingly, Dandy was able to plan ahead and trick his friends.

Hi,

Is it proper to replace "trick" in the above with "cheat/deceive/fool" without making a change in meaning? Thanks.
  

Top answer

All the words work. To me, there's not much difference here between "trick", "deceive" and "fool". Perhaps "deceive" gives a slightly less light-hearted feel to the description of the events.

— Mr Wordy

  • All the words work.
  • To me, there's not much difference here between "trick", "deceive" and "fool".
  • Perhaps "deceive" gives a slightly less light-hearted feel to the description of the events.
  • "Cheat" suggests more strongly to me that the other chimps deserved a share; that Dandy had taken away something that was rightfully theirs.
  • It also could be understood to indicate more malice.
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2 Answers
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All the words work. To me, there's not much difference here between "trick", "deceive" and "fool". Perhaps "deceive" gives a slightly less light-hearted feel to the description of the events.

"Cheat" suggests more strongly to me that the other chimps deserved a share; that Dandy had taken away something that was rightfully theirs. It also could be understood to indicate more malice
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AngliholicDandy isried some a young male chimpanzee
I'm assuming this is a typo -- should it just be "Dandy is a young male chimpanzee..."?
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