take the piss
Meaning
Verb
- To tease, ridicule or mock (someone).
- To subject those present to teasing, ridicule or mockery, or to show contempt.
- To be outrageously unreasonable.
Related
Similar words
Origin
- Possibly from piss-proud. In which case taking the piss out of would mean deflating their false pride, usually through disparagement or mockery. As the piss-proud metaphor became dated, taking the piss out of someone came to refer to disparagement or mockery itself, regardless of the pride of the subject. Eventually the shortened, intransitive form taking the piss became common.
Modern English dictionary
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