practical joke 
noun
A trick played on someone in order to make them look foolish and to amuse others.The build-up has the atmosphere of a phoney war as the rivals perfect the various practical jokes and wind-ups that will help unsettle their enemy's preparations....
- I got to thinking about other, specifically rural pranks and practical jokes and could not come up with all that many…
- Adolescent humor shines in the gag, the prank and the practical joke.
Synonyms
trick, joke, prank, jape, hoax
informal leg-pull
North American informal dido
Australian informal goak
dated cutup, rag
archaic quiz
Derivatives
practical joker
- Lizzie, on the other hand, born after two practical jokers, was a practical joker herself.
- ‘He is a laugh a minute and we are both practical jokers so we got on immediately,’ she said.
- Either that, or we have more than our fair share of practical jokers.