Kronos, who duped his father, is about to be duped himself. Tonight, the language of tricks.
Hesiod’s Theogony · C1+
Part Six: The Stone in Swaddling Clothes
The language of deception (dupe, pass off as, be taken in, fall for, swallow, see through, hoodwink, trick into, play along, cotton on): C1+ language for the most famous trick in Greek myth.
🪨 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Rhea.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
He swallows his own children? I need the vocabulary for how horrible that is.
The story
After Hesiod’s Theogony, lines 453–506
Kronos, warned that a son would overthrow him, swallowed each of his children at birth. When Rhea was about to bear Zeus, she asked her parents, Earth and Sky, for a plan, and they sent her to Crete.
Gaia hid the baby in a cave. Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and passed it off as her newborn son. Kronos fell for it completely: he swallowed the stone without seeing through the trick.
Years later, Zeus, now grown, tricked Kronos into vomiting up the stone and then his brothers and sisters. The stone was set up at Delphi, a wonder for mortals.
He did not know in his heart that a stone had been given to him in place of his son.
Deceiving someone
PHILO
Rhea passed the stone off as a baby. She tricked him into swallowing it. She hoodwinked him.
SOPHIA
pass something off as, trick / fool someone into + -ing, hoodwink, dupe. All mean deceiving, with different flavours.
Being deceived
MARCOS
He was taken in. He fell for it. He swallowed the story!
SOPHIA
be taken in (by), fall for, swallow (believe without question). And when you finally understand: cotton on (to) (informal, British).
Seeing through, and playing along
DEMETRIA
He didn’t see through it. And Gaia played along.
SOPHIA
see through = recognise a trick. play along (with) = pretend to go along with something.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| pass off as; trick into; hoodwink; dupe | deceiving someone | She passed the stone off as a baby. |
| be taken in; fall for; swallow | being deceived | Kronos fell for it. |
| see through | recognising a trick | He didn’t see through it. |
| play along | pretending to cooperate | Gaia played along. |
| cotton on (to) | finally understanding | He never cottoned on. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose
Choose the correct form.
1. He passed himself ___ as a doctor.
2. Don’t be taken ___ by his charm.
3. She tricked him ___ signing the paper.
4. I saw ___ his lies immediately.
5. I can’t ___ that excuse. It’s ridiculous.
6. He fell ___ the oldest trick in the book.
B · Write
Write the correct form of the word in brackets, or the missing word.
7. The old man was by a fake lottery ticket. (deceived)
8. I didn’t agree, but I played to keep the peace.
9. It took me ages to cotton to what was happening.
10. She the stone off as her son.
C · Right or wrong?
Is it correct?
11. “He tricked me to give him money.”
12. “Nobody saw through the disguise.”
13. “I fell on his lies.”
Now play Part Six yourself!Play the gamebook →