Sentence:  'Now, Puddock, back him up—encourage your man,' said Devereux, who took a perverse pleasure in joking; 'tell him to flay the lump, splat him, divide him, and cut him in two pieces—'/ It was a custom of the corps to <WSD>quiz</WSD> Puddock about his cookery ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To hoax; to chaff or mock with pretended seriousness of discourse; to make sport of, as by obscure questions.