pull off
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: pull OFF. Saying “PULL off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /l/ of “pull” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “pull off” is said “pu-loff”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
2 meanings
- 1
To succeed at something difficult.
- “Nobody thought they'd pull it off, but they did.”
- “It was an ambitious plan and she pulled it off.”
Similar: carry off, manage
- 2
To remove something by pulling.
- “He pulled off his boots at the door.”
Similar: remove