tease

Related to tease: tease out

tease (one) about (someone or something)

To taunt, gibe, or mock one in a lighthearted, playful, or annoying manner about someone or something. My friends keep teasing me about my crush on Susie Perkins. We kept teasing Sarah about her new boyfriend.
See also: tease

tease (one) into (doing something)

To provoke or incite one to do something by mocking, gibing, or making fun of them. My friends teased me into joining the football team, saying I was a sissy if I didn't. I kind of liked my mullet, but everyone at work teased me into getting it cut.
See also: tease

tease (one) with (something)

1. To tantalize or torment one with something they cannot or should not have. I'm trying to stick to my diet, but my roommate keeps teasing me with all the cakes and cookies she likes to bake. I loved teasing my friends with pictures of sunny beaches while I was on vacation in the Bahamas.
2. To arouse one sexually with something, especially with no intention of engaging in sexual activity with one. I've just never understood the appeal of strip clubs. You pay to go watch women tease you with their naked bodies and erotic dances, and then you just leave more sexually frustrated than when you arrived. She kept lifting up her skirt to tease me with glimpses of her thighs.
See also: tease

tease (someone or something) out of (someone or something)

1. To separate something that has become entangled with something else. A noun or pronoun is used between "tease" and "out." My mother used a hairbrush to tease the knot out of my hair.
2. To gradually or incrementally extract or uncover a piece of information from someone or something, as through careful analysis or probing. A noun or pronoun is used between "tease" and "out." I was only able to tease the meaning out of the film after watching it again for a fourth time. After a lot of probing and coaxing, we finally teased an answer out of the boss.
3. To lure, entice, or tempt someone or an animal out of something or some place. A noun or pronoun is used between "tease" and "out." The smell of freshly baked muffins teased me out of bed the next morning. The zoo keepers used slabs of meat to tease the tiger out of its cage so the people could see it.
See also: of, out, tease

tease out

1. To separate something that has become entangled. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tease" and "out." My mother used a hairbrush to tease the knot out of my hair.
2. To gradually or incrementally extract or uncover a piece of information, as through careful analysis or probing. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tease" and "out." I was able to tease out the meaning of the film only after watching it again for the fourth time. After a lot of probing and coaxing, we finally teased an answer out of the boss.
See also: out, tease
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

tease someone about someone or something

to make fun of someone about someone or something; to poke fun at someone about someone or something. The boys teased Don about his girlfriend. Stop teasing me about it!
See also: tease

tease someone into doing something

to force someone to do something through teasing or tormenting. Sam teased her into doing what he wanted. Perhaps you can tease him into leaving, but he won't go if you ask him.
See also: tease

tease something out

Fig. to separate threads or hairs by combing. The hairdresser teased Jill's hair out carefully. The hairdresser teased out Jill's hair.
See also: out, tease

tease something out of something

 and tease something out
to lure something out of something by teasing or tempting. I managed to tease the cat out of the tree with a bit offish. I teased out the cat.
See also: of, out, tease
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

tease out

Lure out, obtain or extract with effort, as in We had a hard time teasing the wedding date out of him. This term alludes to the literal sense of tease, "untangle or release something with a pointed tool." [Mid-1900s]
See also: out, tease
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

tease out

v.
To remove or obtain something by or as if by untangling or releasing with a pointed tool or device: I teased the knot out with a pair of tweezers. The interviewer teased the truth out of the politician.
See also: out, tease
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • tease (one) about (someone or something)
  • tease about
  • poke the borax at (someone or something)
  • poke mullock at
  • poke mullock at (someone or something)
  • mullock
  • poke borak at
  • poke borak at (someone or something)
  • borak
  • poke fun at (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
Weight-specific self-consciousness may promote a heightened negative emotional response to a weight tease because of society's "obsession" with the topic of body weight, with magazines (e.g., Shape Magazine) and television shows (e.g., The Biggest Loser) highlighting the stigmatization and self-conscious struggles of those who are overweight.
The role of public self-consciousness and other factors in adolescents' anticipated responses to ambiguous teases on Facebook
What are the perceptions of the mother of the functions of a tease (within the sibling relationship)?
The phenomenon of sibling teasing: three mothers' perceptions of their children's teasing behaviors
As long as there are actors and cheap real estate, there will be "Streep Tease."
Cruz's heap o' Streeps
Less frequent responses included teasing was funny; due to my friends; teaser had problems at home and took them out on me; teaser liked me; teaser felt peer pressure to tease me; teaser did not like me; and teaser was judgmental (see Table 4).
Effects of appearance-related testing on ethnically diverse adolescent girls
My advice: Be clever but honest with the viewer, and make sure the story itself is longer than the tease.
New-age conundrum
Tease is highly regarded by the trainer, who said recently: 'When she gets into her running, she gets low - and flies.'
Racing: Classy Islington can be one to end Oaks drought for Stoute
Several times during the year I ask test essay questions such as, "What should you do when someone teases you and hurts your feelings?" These questions allow me to evaluate each student's understanding about the rule, while also allowing me to reinforce it.
How do you stop kids from teasing? (Dilemma)
Instead of scaring the audience with a tease asking if a smallpox epidemic is likely, the reasonable change would be to sum up the story in clear terms: "A smallpox epidemic is (likely, not likely, or a possibility) at this time." If there's a story on how safe the American food supply is, a proper tease would sum up whether experts think terrorists will attack the food supply in the near future.
Teasing the news is the wrong thing to thing to do. (Words & Images)
When using the high-powered tease, consider taking the most powerful or emotional-sounding words and blowing them up to be huge compared to the rest of the copy.
DIRECT MARKETING UNIVERSITY: The Big Tease
Don't be upset they tease you Just stand tall and say, "If you were me, think how you would feel," or "I just need more time than you."
kids Helping kids
Both reappear over this Bank Holiday weekend in terrestrial televised events: Cream Tease in today's Group 3 at Goodwood and Sir Ninja in tomorrow's Hennessy Cognac Blaydon Race at Newcastle.
Trainer hoping Cream Tease proves tops
And then they delighted locals with an impromptu strip tease - just hours before England's memorable World Cup qualifying draw in Rome on October 11.
ENGLAND BOYS DID STRIP TEASE IN BAR; But most blokes would after sinking 120 bottles of beer!
He is an outrageous tease, and one never knows where he is going to strike next with his devastating barbs.
Rex Harrington: the dark prince of dance
Donegan's tape has the tease level of a fan dance, where everything is suggested and nothing is revealed.
Cheryl Donegan
There's tease in the poetic language he uses to compare glowworms to "the stubs of the fattest most expensive cigars" or to record "the tea-time tinkle of all the surgical instruments on the trolley." There's tease when Denton tries to figure what's what in the world.
Denton Welch: the making of a writer