INDEX:
1. something you say or write in order to be funny
2. something that you do to make people laugh
3. to say something to make people laugh
4. someone who tells jokes or does things to make people laugh
5. to pretend that something is true as a joke
6. not behaving or speaking seriously
to make someone seem stupid by making jokes : ↑ MAKE FUN OF
see also
↑ FUNNY
↑ SERIOUS
↑ LAUGH
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1. something you say or write in order to be funny
▷ joke /dʒəʊk/ [countable noun]
▪ Have you heard any good jokes lately?
▪ Wilson spoke for about 15 minutes, peppering his mainly serious message with jokes.
joke about
▪ Leno opened the show with a joke about the election.
get the joke also see a joke
British understand a joke
▪ It wasn’t that I didn’t get the joke - I just didn’t think it was funny.
▪ Everyone laughed except Mr Broadbent, who didn’t see the joke.
tell a joke
▪ It’s a good idea to start a speech by telling a joke.
dirty joke
one about sex
▪ In some situations, a dirty joke can be considered sexual harassment.
private joke
a secret joke
▪ The two girls were whispering in the corner and giggling over some private joke.
▷ funny story /ˌfʌni ˈstɔːri/ [countable noun]
a short story you tell to make people laugh :
▪ It reminded her of a funny story she’d heard at work.
tell a funny story
▪ He began telling funny stories about the time he worked as a barman on a cruise ship.
▷ wisecrack /ˈwaɪzkræk/ [countable noun] informal
something funny that someone says to try to make people laugh - use this especially when what they say annoys you :
▪ Bob Hope would keep his audience laughing with an endless stream of jokes and wisecracks.
▪ Amy responded with a wisecrack that got her in big trouble with the teacher.
▷ one-liner /ˌwʌn ˈlaɪnəʳ/ [countable noun]
a short remark that is funny and clever :
▪ There are some memorable one-liners in every Woody Allen film.
▪ It’s a hilarious scene with a succession of brilliant one-liners from Groucho Marx.
▷ gag /gæg/ [countable noun]
a short joke, especially one told by a professional entertainer as part of a show :
▪ His first job was writing gags for a famous comedian.
gag about
▪ He started the show with a few old gags about mothers-in-law.
▷ punch line /ˈpʌntʃ laɪn/ [countable noun]
the sentence or phrase that comes at the end of a joke, and makes it funny :
▪ He got to the end of the joke and couldn’t remember the punch line.
▪ I waited for the punch line, but it never came.
▷ the one about ... /ðə ˈwʌn əbaʊt .../ [noun phrase] spoken
say this when you are going to tell someone a joke about a particular subject :
▪ Have you heard the one about the brown cow who goes into a bar?
▷ pun /pʌn/ [countable noun]
a joke made by deliberately mixing up or mistaking two different meanings of the same word or two words with the same sound :
▪ ‘Seven days without food makes one weak’ is a pun on the words ‘week’ and ‘weak’, and also on the different meanings of ‘one’.
▪ The audience groaned at his pun.
(if you’ll) pardon the pun
used to say that you know what you are going to say has two meanings
▪ ‘Pardon the pun, but we were all in the same boat,’ said Navy Lieutenant Green.
▷ double meaning/entendre /ˌdʌb ə l ˈmiːnɪŋ, ˌduːblɒnˈtɒndrəǁ-blɑːnˈtɑːn-/ [countable noun]
a joke made by deliberately using a word or phrase that has two possible meanings, one of which is about sex or sexual parts of the body :
▪ Dirty jokes and double meanings are what makes the show funny.
▪ The song’s lyrics are full of double entendres.
2. something that you do to make people laugh
▷ joke /dʒəʊk/ [countable noun]
▪ We didn’t mean to frighten you. It was only a joke.
▪ Inside the parcel there was an empty bottle. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’ he asked.
take a joke
accept a joke that is against you
▪ I can take a joke as well as anyone, but this isn’t funny, it’s embarrassing.
▷ practical joke /ˌpræktɪk ə l ˈdʒəʊk/ [countable noun]
a trick, especially one that is carefully planned that is intended to confuse and surprise someone and to make other people laugh at them :
▪ The phone call was the sort of practical joke that radio stations often play on celebrities.
play a practical joke
▪ Police believe the circles in the crops are made by someone playing an elaborate practical joke.
▷ prank /præŋk/ [countable noun]
a silly action that is intended as a harmless joke - use this especially when something serious happens as a result of it :
▪ The fire was started as a prank.
▪ Pushing her in the river seemed like a harmless prank, but it ended in tragedy.
pull/play a prank (on somebody)
▪ Every year, the older kids pull pranks on new students.
▷ play a trick/joke /ˌpleɪ ə ˈtrɪk, ˈdʒəʊk/ [verb phrase]
to surprise or deceive someone with a trick so that you and other people can laugh at them :
▪ He didn’t seem the type of boy to play jokes.
play a trick/joke on
▪ When she didn’t come, I thought she was playing a trick on me.
▷ as a joke also for a joke British /əz ə ˈdʒəʊk, fər ə ˈdʒəʊk/ [adverb]
if you do something as a joke or for a joke, you do it because you think it will have amusing results or make people laugh :
▪ You shouldn’t spread rumours like that, even as a joke.
▪ Once, for a joke, they changed round all the numbers on the doors.
▷ for a laugh /fər ə ˈlɑːfǁ-ˈlæf/ [adverb] British informal
if you do something for a laugh, you do it for fun or to make people laugh :
▪ Just for a laugh we hung all the pictures upside down.
▪ Kevin set off the fire alarm for a laugh.
3. to say something to make people laugh
▷ make a joke/crack a joke /ˌmeɪk ə ˈdʒəʊk, ˌkræk ə ˈdʒəʊk/ [verb phrase]
▪ Nick cracked a joke to try to ease the tension.
▪ My mother makes a joke of just about everything.
make a joke/crack a joke about
▪ This is a serious matter. I wish you wouldn’t make jokes about it.
▷ tell a joke /ˌtel ə ˈdʒəʊk/ [verb phrase]
to tell someone a joke that you have heard or read somewhere else :
▪ I tried to cheer him up by telling a joke.
▪ I’m afraid I’m not very good at telling jokes.
tell somebody a joke
▪ Pat told them a joke about two flies walking on the ceiling.
▷ joke /dʒəʊk/ [intransitive verb]
to say funny things and talk in a way that is not serious :
▪ A group of teenagers were standing at the corner, laughing and joking.
▪ They’re a good class to teach. You can joke and have a laugh with them.
joke about
▪ When he was a kid he was embarrassed about his height, but now he can joke about it.
▷ wisecrack /ˈwaɪzkræk/ [intransitive verb]
to make funny remarks, especially ones that could annoy some people :
▪ Grable made him mad by wisecracking about his weight.
▪ The president appeared totally relaxed, chatting and wisecracking with reporters.
4. someone who tells jokes or does things to make people laugh
▷ comedian/comic /kəˈmiːdiən, ˈkɒmɪkǁˈkɑː-/ [countable noun]
a professional entertainer who makes people laugh :
▪ Lenny Henry, the famous British comedian, will appear in a show in London next week.
▪ Before becoming a film actor, he’d been a comic appearing regularly in cabaret.
stand-up comedian/comic
one who stands alone in front of the public and tells jokes
▪ Robin Williams first made his name as a stand-up comedian.
▷ wit /wɪt/ [countable noun]
an intelligent person who is good at being funny in clever or original ways :
▪ Rochester was well known as a wit in society circles.
▪ A dozen writers and wits used to gather at the Algonquin Hotel for lunch.
▷ practical joker /ˌpræktɪk ə l ˈdʒəʊkəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who does something in order to confuse or trick someone else, to make other people laugh :
▪ The shop sold toys and gadgets for practical jokers.
5. to pretend that something is true as a joke
▷ be joking/be kidding /biː ˈdʒəʊkɪŋ, biː ˈkɪdɪŋ/ [verb phrase] informal
to say something that is not true as a joke :
▪ When he asked me to marry him I wasn’t sure whether he was joking or being serious.
just/only kidding
▪ ‘You’re just kidding, right Mom?’ Joe asked anxiously.
▪ Don’t get mad - I was only joking!
are you kidding?/you’re kidding!
say this when you think someone is joking
▪ You’re kidding. You mean it only rains once a year there?
▪ ‘They wanted $425 just for the room.’ ‘Are you kidding?’
no kidding
say this to show you are serious
▪ It was the best pizza I’ve ever eaten, no kidding.
no kidding?
say this when you think someone could be joking
▪ She’s only sixteen? No kidding? She looks twenty-five.
▷ jokingly /ˈdʒəʊkɪŋli/ [adverb]
if you say something jokingly you say it to amuse people, and do not really mean it seriously :
▪ Braden jokingly refers to her daughter as ‘the demon.’
▷ you’re having me on British /you’re putting me on American /jɔːʳ ˌhævɪŋ miː ˈɒn, jɔːʳ ˌpʌtɪŋ miː ˈɒn/ [verb phrase] spoken
say this when you think someone is trying to make you believe something that is not true :
▪ Come on, you guys, you’re putting me on, right?
▪ He makes £80,000 a year? You’re having me on.
▷ be pulling somebody’s leg /biː ˌpʊlɪŋ somebodyˈs ˈleg/ [verb phrase] informal
to try to make someone believe something that is not true, as a friendly joke :
▪ Is all this really true, or are you pulling my leg?
▪ You don’t really have to buy tickets. I was just pulling your leg.
▷ wind somebody up /ˌwaɪnd somebody ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb] British
to say something that is untrue, or do or say something to deliberately annoy someone, as a joke :
▪ I was only winding you up - don’t take it so seriously!
wind-up /ˈwaɪnd ʌp/ [countable noun]
▪ What was meant to be a harmless wind-up ended up with the sacking of three men yesterday.
6. not behaving or speaking seriously
▷ flippant /ˈflɪpənt/ [adjective]
not being serious about something that should be taken seriously, so that people think you do not care :
▪ People ask me if I’m related to him, and my answer is usually a flippant ‘No, but I wish I were.’
▪ When asked what is wrong with the economy, analysts reply ‘Not enough money.’ This answer is not as flippant as it sounds.
▪ Sorry if that sounded flippant or heartless - it wasn’t meant to be.
flippantly [adverb]
▪ ‘It’s only money,’ said Gabriella flippantly. ‘Here today and gone tomorrow!’
▷ playful /ˈpleɪf ə l/ [adjective]
actions or behaviour that are playful are not serious, but they are fun and friendly :
▪ He gave me a playful slap on the shoulder.
▪ She tried to sound playful but somehow the words came out the wrong way.
playfully [adverb]
▪ Toby laughed, playfully telling her off.
▷ facetious /fəˈsiːʃəs/ [adjective]
making jokes or trying to be funny in a clever or unkind way that people think is annoying :
▪ At the risk of sounding facetious, who really cares about what happens?
▪ The speech saying drug users should be shot was clearly facetious, but it contained a serious point.
facetiously [adverb]
▪ ‘What would we do without him?’ said Chuck facetiously.
▷ tongue-in-cheek /ˌtʌŋ ɪn ˈtʃiːk/ [adjective/adverb]
a remark, statement etc that is tongue-in-cheek is intended as a joke but is said or written in a serious or sincere way :
▪ His tongue-in-cheek articles are brilliantly funny and very political.
▪ ‘This just shows you what a great coach I am,’ said Braden, tongue-in-cheek.