fake out

present singular third person fakes out · participle present faking out · participle past faked out · past faked out

1. informaltransitiveTo deceive, mislead, or trick (someone).

   Wee-Man ran up to Williams to shake hands, then faked her out, running his hand through his hair instead.

   2007 August 19, Susan Dominus, “Dangerous When Interested”, in New York Times, retrieved 14 Jan 2012

   2 more examples

   Rhyder, who police later concluded had been faking them out during the pursuit by reaching into his pants several times for a gun, actually had been searching frantically for the weapon.

   1989 November 16, Kristin Casler, “Police Recover Stolen Gun”, in The Morning Call, Pennsylvania, USA, retrieved 14 Jan 2012, page B1

   There’s no reason for the catcher to try to spoof the ump, fake him out, in that situation. . . . There’s no need for deception.

   2005 October 13, King Kaufman, “King Kaufman’s Sports Daily”, in salon.com, retrieved 14 Jan 2012