joke


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a joke

An object of ridicule, contempt, or dismissal, especially due to being inadequate, defective, or not genuine. Their customer service is a total joke. I was on the phone for nearly two hours just to be told that they couldn't identify the problem and wouldn't help me any further. I spent nearly $800 on this phone, and it stopped working after just a month. What a joke! Their offense would be pretty formidable if their quarterback weren't such a joke.
See also: joke

a practical joke

A mischievous trick typically involving some physical action or object intended to make someone look or feel foolish. We hid a rubber snake in the fridge as a practical joke so that it would scare Mom or Dad when they went in for something to eat. We were going to play a practical joke on David, but he noticed our car parked out front—that ruined it. It turns out that the supposed alien visitors that people had been seeing were just a bunch of teenagers playing a practical joke.
See also: joke, practical
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

joke (with someone) (about someone or something)

to quip with someone about someone or something; to make verbal fun with someone about someone or something. I was joking with Tom about the performance. I joked about Andy with Fran.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

joke

tv. to tease someone; to make fun of someone. Everybody was joking my roommate because of her accent.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
[USA], Sept 2 (ANI): Commonplace suggestive jokes such as 'that's what she said' normalise and dismiss the horror of sexual misconduct experiences, experts have suggested in a new study.
According to the BBC, she said: "Not only is it not funny to poke fun at people with Tourette's, it's not even that funny a joke, is it?"
In the study, 40 groan-worthy dad jokes were given a baseline humour rating of between one - not funny - and seven - hilarious.
This push for zero tolerance for sexist jokes, humour, dialogue, language and interaction followed an interactive panel discussion titled 'This is Not Funny', under the Uks Dialogue for Change initiative, where the increased prevalence and use of sexist and misogynistic jokes and language were discussed.
Rather than add to this debate, however, the Arizona researchers looked not at what's funny or not, but how telling jokes affects the way the joke-teller is perceived which, in turn, influence the joke's impact.
The President again cracked another marijuana joke in a speech Wednesday.
According to the President, if his remark sounds ridiculous, it must be a joke.
However, this congruity has to be resolved partially for a joke to remain funny; otherwise it turns into a riddle (Oring's theory 1992, 2003).
Yet this kind of joke also speaks to something else: a culture finding itself, emerging, in thought.
The joke starts, "What do a pizza delivery driver and a gynecologist have in common?" The punchline is too foul to repeat, however. 
The joke book was born when Tom, bored of practicing his hand-writing the usual way, started writing out jokes instead.
"Once we had someone who sent a message to his friend claiming he was part of an organisation or illegal group in the UAE just to scare him for a joke," an official said.
Seriously Funny: Mexican Political Jokes as Social Resistance.
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