For example, if you said that someone had been fooled by something, would they take offense and think you’re calling them a fool or foolish?
What if you say someone’s been “played for a fool”?
For example, if you said that someone had been fooled by something, would they take offense and think you’re calling them a fool or foolish?
What if you say someone’s been “played for a fool”?
I’d say you’re more likely to get a positive response if you use words like “deceived” or “conned” or “lied to” which place the fault on the deceiver.
“Fooled” isn’t offensive per se; “chumped” is worse. But if I was wanting to convince someone that they had been maliciously given false information, I’d use language that doesn’t raise hackles by implicitly blaming them for being deceived.