kid (2) — OAT

kid2

verb informal

1 the village is called Hell—I'm not kidding:

joke, tease, jest, chaff, be facetious;

pretend, play, fool around;

informal pull someone's leg, wind up, have on, rib, josh;

North American, informal pull someone's chain, fun, shuck.

2 why did I kid myself that I'd succeed?:

delude, deceive, fool, trick, take in, hoodwink, hoax, beguile, dupe, gull, bamboozle;

informal con, pull the wool over someone's eyes;

literary cozen.