Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb New Zealand, UK, vulgar, slang, idiomatic, transitive To
tease ,ridicule ormock (someone). - verb New Zealand, UK, vulgar, slang, idiomatic, intransitive To subject those present to
teasing ,ridicule ormockery , or to showcontempt .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Possibly from piss-proud. Figuratively, to be piss-proud is to have false pride, thus 'taking the piss out of' is to deflate their false pride, usu. 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.
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Examples
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yarb commented on the word take the piss
We took the piss with a rare tenderness.
- Peter Reading, Otto Van Bumph, from The Prison Cell and Barrel Mystery, 1976
June 23, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word take the piss
= make fun of
June 23, 2008