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April fool. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
April fool, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
April fool in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Noun
April fool (plural April fools)
- A person subjected to a practical joke on April Fools' Day.
- Coordinate term: May gosling
1785, Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,, page 4:APRIL FOOL, Any one imposed on, or sent on a bootless errand on the first of April, on which day it is the custom among the lower people, children, and servants, by dropping empty papers carefully doubled up, sending persons on absurd messages, and such like contrivances, to impose on every one they can, and then to salute them with the title of April-fool.
- A practical joke played on April Fools' Day.
2012, Benedict le Vay, Ben Le Vay's Eccentric Britain, page 14:The best April fool ever perpetrated was 1 April 1698 and made a laughing stock of the gentry of London, great numbers of whom turned up in their carriages and finery at the Tower of London to 'see the lions being washed' as instructed on their gilt-edged invitation cards.
Usage notes
- Often used as an exclamation upon revealing the joke.
Synonyms
- (person): gowk (Scottish)
Derived terms
Translations
practical joke played on April Fools' Day
person subjected to a practical joke April Fools' Day