爱思英语编者按：愚人节别光顾着恶作剧，也来学点新知识。今天老是挂在嘴边的恶作剧在英文中有哪些表达，都应该怎么用，之间有什么区别呢？
 

mischief

behavior or activity that is annoying but that is not meant to cause serious harm or damage

无伤大雅、不带伤害目的的调皮行为。多用于小孩子的淘气行为。

e.g. It's hard to keep him out of mischief.

trick

something done to surprise or confuse someone and to make other people laugh

单纯用于吓唬、迷惑、逗笑他人的一些行为。

e.g. She enjoys playing tricks on her friends.

prank

a trick that is done to someone usually as a joke

捉弄他人、开玩笑。有实际行为的无恶意伤害的玩笑。是愚人节恶作剧比较常用统称的说法。

e.g. He enjoys playing pranks on his friends.

practical joke

a joke involving something that is done rather than said : a trick played on someone

有实际行动的非口头上的玩笑。Joke是指口头上的玩笑，practical joke就是指有身体行为的玩笑，都是以搞笑为目的。

e.g. One of the children filled the sugar bowl with salt as a practical joke.

hoax

to trick or deceive (someone)

愚弄、欺骗他人。这个词有故意要引起大众注意的意思，有些轻松愉快的hoax是可以看做是一种prank，但是hoax也有恶意、为了利益而为的意思，可能对他人造成伤害。

e.g. The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building.