What does “la’avod al mishehu” mean in Hebrew slang?

At the reveal in this singing guessing show, a judge admits: התוכנית הזאת עבדה עלינו ביג טיים — “this show fooled us big time.” לעבוד על מישהו, literally “to work on someone,” is Israel’s everyday phrase for pulling someone’s leg. When a friend tells you something unbelievable, the reflex reply is !אתה עובד עליי — “you’re kidding me!”

The judge seals it with ביג טיים — “big time,” lifted straight from English; Israeli slang borrows English mid-sentence without ceremony. The show’s premise is judging singers on looks alone, and its title asks זמר או זייפן — “a singer or a זייפן?” That word is its own gem: from לזייף, which means both “to forge, to fake” and “to sing off-key.”