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Definition 2024


take_the_piss_out_of

take the piss

English

Alternative forms

Verb

take the piss (out of)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, Britain, vulgar, slang, idiomatic, transitive) To tease, ridicule or mock (someone).
    • 1987, Judy Vermorel, Sex Pistols: the inside story‎, p.16
      You know, cos he was like taking the piss out of them and they took the piss out of him.
    • 1999, Carole Zucker, In the company of actors: reflections on the craft of acting‎, p.152
      A lot of that stuff that people take the piss out of all the time is actually useful.
  2. (Australia, New Zealand, Britain, vulgar, slang, idiomatic, intransitive) To subject those present to teasing, ridicule or mockery, or to show contempt.
    • 2008, Will Swanton, Some Day: Inside the Dream Tour and Mick Fanning's 2007 Championship Win‎,
      He's either taking it easy or taking the piss by arriving at the eleventh hour.

Usage notes

  • As this phrase may be found offensive, it is often bowdlerised to take the pee or censored in print as “take the p***” or, less commonly, “take the p”. A common jocular euphemism is extract the urine, a formal equivalent of the literal meaning of the words.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

  • take a piss

References

  1. Quinion, Michael (1999-08-14) World Wide Words: Take the piss