fool1

 
Pronunciation: /fuːl/

noun

  • 1a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person: I felt a bit of a fool
  • archaic a person who is duped or imposed on: he is the fool of circumstances
  • 2 historical a jester or clown, especially one retained in a royal or noble household.

verb

  • 1 [with object] trick or deceive (someone); dupe: don’t be fooled into paying out any more of your hard-earned cash she tried to fool herself that she had stopped loving him
  • 2 [no object] act in a joking, frivolous, or teasing way: some lads in the pool were fooling around
  • [no object] (fool around) chiefly North American engage in casual or extramarital sexual activity.

adjective

[attributive] informal
  • foolish; silly: that damn fool waiter

Phrases

be no (or nobody's) fool

be a shrewd or prudent person.

a fool and his money are soon parted

proverb a foolish person spends money carelessly and will soon be penniless.

fools rush in where angels fear to tread

proverb people without good sense or judgement will have no hesitation in tackling a situation that even the wisest would avoid.

make a fool of

trick or deceive (someone) so that they look foolish.
(make a fool of oneself) behave in an incompetent or inappropriate way that makes one appear foolish.

more fool ——

used to convey that a specified person is behaving unwisely: if suckers will actually pay to do the work, more fool them

play (or act) the fool

behave in a playful or silly way.

there's no fool like an old fool

proverb the foolish behaviour of an older person seems especially foolish as they are expected to think and act more sensibly than a younger one.

you could have fooled me!

used to express cynicism or doubt about an assertion: ‘Fun, was it? Well, you could have fooled me!’

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French fol 'fool, foolish', from Latin follis 'bellows, windbag', by extension 'empty-headed person'