put-on

[ noun poot-on, -awn; adjective 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

   the batsman put on fifty runs before lunch

   she put on weight

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. put someone on
   1. to connect (a person) by telephone
   2. 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

Example Sentences

“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

He described the unorthodox and at times controversial comedian Andy Kaufman as “the pre-eminent put-on artist of his generation” and “a pioneering practitioner of various cultural trends long before they ever became trends.”

From New York Times