practical joke
noun phrase
- a joke which makes someone seem foolish and involves a physical action rather than words

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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WORD ORIGIN

A practical joke is a trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humour. The victim is sometimes referred to the as the "target" or the "mark." Practical jokes are different from verbal jokes in that an action takes place, as opposed to someone merely telling a joke. It's called a practical joke because it involves "practicing" (carrying-out) a trick.

Practical jokes are also different from so-called "cons," in that a con involves tricking someone out of money or other valuables without them knowing about it. With a practical joke, part of the fun is that the victim realizes at some point that a joke is being played on them, thus causing embarrassment.

One of the oldest and simplest practical jokes is pulling a chair away from someone as they try to sit down. Other common ones are golf balls that explode when struck by a golf club, cigarettes that explode when lit, coins glued to the floor and tying someone's shoelaces together.

Some practical jokes, so clever and well conceived, have affected entire populations. In 1938, Orson Welles read an adaptation of the HG Wells novel The War of the Worlds on U.S. radio, making it sound as if the country was actually being invaded by Martians. Welles went on to explain that he wasn't playing a practical joke. Instead he just wanted to make the reading sound dramatic.

And in June 1958 in Cambridge England, the city woke up to see a car sitting on the apex of a rooftop, as if it were driving across the skyline. The spectacle made headlines around the world and left police, fire fighters and civil defence units battling for nearly a week to get the vehicle back on the ground. They finally gave up and took the car apart, piece by piece.

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SYNONYMS

hoax, prank, April Fools, lark, caper, antic, trick, stunt, horseplay, shenanigans, tomfoolery

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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"Be careful when playing PRACTICAL JOKES. Not everyone has the same sense of humour."