poke fun at
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poke fun at (someone or something)
To mildly taunt or mock someone or something; to make fun of someone or something. The humorist has long been poking fun at figures high in the social and political spheres, drawing the ire of many of them as a result. I was just poking fun at him—I didn't think he'd take it so personally!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
poke fun at someone or something
to make fun of someone or something. You shouldn't poke fun at me for my mistakes. They are just poking fun at the strange architecture.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
poke fun at
see under make fun of.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
poke fun at
tease or make fun of. 1989 Basile Kerblay Gorbachev's Russia They used to poke fun at his boorish ways.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
poke fun at
To ridicule in a mischievous manner.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
poke fun at, to
To mock or ridicule, to tease. Poke here means “to thrust,” and the fun is at the victim’s expense. This term has been around since 1835 or so. The OED cites Thomas Hood’s Up the Rhine (1840): “The American . . . in a dry way began to poke his fun at the unfortunate traveler,” a statement that leaves no doubt about who is having the “fun.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer