put-on

[poot-on, -awn, poot-on, -awn]

noun

Informal.

1. an act or instance of putting someone on.

2. a prank or pretense, especially one perpetrated or assumed in mock seriousness; hoax; spoof.

3. affected manner or behavior; pretentiousness.

adjective

1. assumed, feigned, pretended, or disguised.

   a put-on manner that didn't fool anyone.

put on

verb

1. to clothe oneself in

   to put on a coat

2. (usually passive) to adopt (an attitude or feeling) insincerely

   his misery was just put on

3. to present or stage (a play, show, etc)

4. to increase or add

   she put on weight

   the batsman put on fifty runs before lunch

5. to cause (an electrical device) to function

6. (also preposition) to wager (money) on a horse race, game, etc

   he put ten pounds on the favourite

7. (also preposition) to impose as a burden or levy

   to put a tax on cars

8. cricket to cause (a bowler) to bowl

9. 1. to connect (a person) by telephone

   2. slang,  to mock or tease

noun

1. a hoax or piece of mockery

2. an affected manner or mode of behaviour

Word History and Origins

Origin of put on¹

1855–60; adj., noun use of verb phrase put ( someone ) on

Idioms and Phrases

Clothe oneself with, as in I put on my socks . [Mid-1400s]

Apply, activate, as in He put on the brakes . [Mid-1700s]

Assume affectedly, pretend to, as in He put on a British accent . This idiom is sometimes put as put it on , as in He's not really asleep; he's putting it on . [Late 1600s; late 1800s]

put someone on . Tease or mislead another, as in I don't believe you! You're putting me on . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

Add to, gain, as in Please put this on our bill , or I've put on some weight .

Cause to be performed, produce, as in I hear they're putting on Shakespeare this summer . [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

To do so would seem like a silly put-on — like a weird grief pantomime.

From Salon

“People trust me because I’m not a put-on.”

From Los Angeles Times

To Finch’s credit, this wasn’t a complete political put-on.

From Salon

But he writes with sensitivity too, from painterly depictions of the Palm Desert and Salton Sea to riffs on the Talmud that suggest Cohen’s faith isn’t entirely a put-on.

From Los Angeles Times

But it was just a tactic — what Kanai called a “put-on.”

From Los Angeles Times