To pull the wool over someones eyes

Feifei Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei…

Neil And hello, I’m Neil. And I have to say, Feifei, that’s a very cool, but warm, woolly hat you’re wearing.

Feifei Oh thanks, Neil. It’s unusual to get a compliment from you!

Neil You’re welcome. But why are you wearing it in the studio?

Feifei Well, it’s so cold outside. I had to wear something to keep my head warm. I suppose I should take it off now?

Neil Actually, no. Can you pull it down a bit more, so it covers your eyes?

Feifei Well, if you say so. There. How do I look?

Neil Beautiful! And it demonstrates the English phrase perfectly - to pull the wool over your eyes.

Feifei Another strange English phrase! Neil, does it mean ‘not being able to see’ or maybe, ‘to have a very warm head’?

Neil No. To pull the wool over somebody’s eyes means ‘to trick or deceive someone so it stops them discovering something’.

Feifei Right. But you don’t actually have to wear a woolly hat to do this.

Neil You don’t. But for now, keep the hat where it is while we hear some examples…

Examples You can’t pull the wool over my eyes! I know you’ve been smoking. I can smell it!

He tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the shareholders and not tell them the company was bankrupt. But they soon found out.

You can’t pull the wool over her eyes. She’s too smart. She’ll find out you’ve been dating her best friend.

Feifei You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English and we’re finding out about the expression ‘to pull the wool over someone’s eyes’, which means ‘to trick or deceive someone to stop them discovering something’. So it’s really about hiding something from someone?

Neil Exactly!

Feifei So are you pulling the wool over my eyes? Neil? Are you there?

Neil Ha ha! She’ll never know I’ve taken the biscuits from her handbag. OK, Feifei, you can remove your hat now. Sorry, it was just funny looking at you like that!

Feifei Pulling the wool over my eyes is no joke! I know you stole my biscuits. You’ll pay for this.

Neil Oh no! Time to go! Bye.

Feifei Neil, come back!