pull a fast one

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

pull a fast one (third-person singular simple present pulls a fast one, present participle pulling a fast one, simple past and past participle pulled a fast one)

1. (idiomatic, often followed by on) To carry out a trick or deception; to behave contrary to expectations.

   This isn't worth anything like what you paid them. I think they pulled a fast one on you.

   • 1992 August 7, Andrew Rosenthal, “The 1992 Campaign: Bush Says Rival Would ‘Pull a Fast One’ Over Taxes”, in New York Times‎^[1], retrieved 3 November 2017:

     President Bush today made his most aggressive assault yet on Gov. Bill Clinton, asserting that the Democratic nominee would "pull a fast one on the American people" and raise taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars.

   • 1998 March 16, Daniel Kadlec, “Is That You, Al Dunlap?”, in Time‎^[2], retrieved 3 November 2017:

     The man known as Chainsaw Al pulled a fast one last week, buying three companies when everyone assumed he would be selling his own.

   • 2013 April 2, Ricky Tomlinson, “10 lies we're told about welfare”, in The Guardian‎^[3], retrieved 3 November 2017:

     7. Claimants are pulling a fast one. No. Less than 1% of the welfare budget is lost to fraud.

   • 2021 January 11, Mimi Swartz, “Never Forget What Ted Cruz Did”, in The New York Times‎^[4], →ISSN:

     But then came Jan. 6, when I watched my Ivy League-educated senator, Ted Cruz, try to pull yet another fast one on the American people as he fought — not long before the certification process was disrupted by a mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol and forcing their way into the Senate chamber — to challenge the election results.

   • 2024 April 17, “Rural railways: do they deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1007, page 57:

     The chap opposite seems to be trying to pull a fast one, and having seen the guard is trying to buy a ticket online... but doesn't succeed. The guard helpfully sells him one, but not quite at the price of one purchased in advance. In fairness he doesn't kick off, nor does the guard treat him like some common criminal. It's a fair cop - or should that be a fare cop?

Translations

to deceive or trick

• German: (colloquial) jemanden reinlegen, jemanden über den Löffel barbieren (de), jemanden übers Ohr hauen
• Polish: brać na bajer impf, wziąć na bajer pf, wystrychnąć na dudka (pl) pf
• Portuguese: passar a perna (pt)
• Turkish: (colloquial) katakulli yapmak (tr), (colloquial) katakulliye getirmek, (colloquial) numara yapmak (tr), oyun etmek (tr), (colloquial) oyun oynamak (tr), oyuna getirmek (tr)

See also

• fast one