#puttingmeon

YOU’RE PUTTING ME ON

Idiomatic Meaning: The act of teasing or misleading someone, especially for amusement; Something, such as a prank, intended as a hoax or joke; a spoof; convey incredulity, disbelief, or even surprise.

Literal Meaning: There are at least a dozen different meanings to the phrasal expression, “put on”. Usually these require an object. Some of the more common ones are to dress (as in onself or someone else), to apply (as in pressure or make-up), to add (as in weight), to produce (as in a play), to place (as on a shelf), to lift (as in a person on a train.)

Usage: Formal and informal, spoken and written, American English. Often used to convey disbelief and/or convince someone of something untrue.

Origin:  Mid-19th 50 mid-20th Century, American English – There is much debate about how far back this idiom goes. Some say Mark Twain and others used it in the 19th century. But that may have been in a different context and word order. “Put on” goes back to the 17th century meaning “assumed” or “feigned”, from the idea of putting on a costume, mask, or make-up. The form in which it was commonly used prior to the 1950s was “to put on [something]” with the “something” being the object of the verbal phrase “put on” (“That voice is put on,” 1806). Some say the earliest written use of the form “put someone on,” with the object of the verb being the deceived person, dates only to 1958.

Why is this funny? In the cartoon we see a producer or host of a comedy show sending an aspiring comic up to the stage to perform her routine. She’s very scared and questions being sent up to perform. She accuses the man of joking with her. We can say that he’s “putting her on” (the stage) while she thinks he’s “putting her on” (kidding).