make a fool of

Idioms and Phrases

Also, make an ass or monkey out of . Cause someone or oneself to look foolish or stupid. For example, John doesn't mind making a fool of himself at parties , or They made an ass of me by giving me the wrong instructions , or Just watch him make a monkey out of this amateur chess player . The use of fool and ass date from the early 1600s; the latter is sometimes put more rudely as make a horse's ass of , alluding to a horse's behind. The use of monkey dates from about 1900.

Example Sentences

"I definitely understand people who overdrink. Would I do it myself? I hope not because people kind of tend to make a fool of themselves when they overdrink."

From BBC

O’Brien’s “Late Night” was in the Letterman vein, though more kinetic, more surreal, more disturbing, with the host ever ready to make a fool of himself.

From Los Angeles Times

He went on, “Of course, we hope to fool the desert, with its endless hunger for good men’s bones. So we’ll pray the Lord can fool the devil on our behalf until we reach the garrison. Then you can fool me to run an errand, so you can visit the blacksmith’s servant girl. Most likely you’ll make a fool of yourself, fool her into giving you a smile, and then if you’re lucky, the fooling around really begins.”

From Literature

“The real benefit of being friends off set is that you can try crazy stuff without fear of falling. Because some of it won’t work and that will be momentarily embarrassing, but if you’re among friends, it’s okay to make a fool of yourself in the pursuit of something surprising and something unexpected,” Levy said.

From Seattle Times

“This is the first time they’re doing it. We are kicking this off and we’re doing it in Yakima. And that’s part of the reason why I agreed to do this and make a fool of myself trying to play Dungeons & Dragons.”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• confuse
• crush
• degrade
• demean
• depress
• disgrace
• humble
• shame
• snub
• subdue