English Explanatory Dictionary

pull the football

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To appear to make someone a promising offer, only to withdraw it to the detriment of the other party.

Word forms

pull the football pulls the football pulling the football pulled the football pull the football away yank the football

Etymology

From a running gag in the American comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. Typically, Lucy Van Pelt holds a football for Charlie Brown to kick, only to pull it away and cause him to fall over. The gag first appeared in the November 14, 1951 comic.

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