all in jest
- idiom
:
en broma
- She apologized, explaining that her remarks were all in jest and not meant to offend.
Examples
-
I was just teasing you; it was all in jest.
-
When he teased his friend about the haircut, it was all in jest.
-
His comment about quitting was all in jest, so there's no need to worry.
-
It was all in jest!
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His comment about quitting was all in jest, so there's no need to worry.
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She apologized, explaining that her remarks were all in jest and not meant to offend.
-
When he teased his friend about the haircut, it was all in jest.
Synonyms
27
2.0
Said or done as a joke and not meant seriously
13
3.7
Said to show something is funny and not serious
9
6.6
In a joking way not meant to be taken seriously
5
5.3
People say it as a joke and do not mean it seriously
3
8.1
In a joking way that is not meant to be taken seriously
2
6.8
Joking and not meant to be taken seriously
1
3.6
To say or do something in a joking way without being serious
In a joking way that is not serious
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase transparently combines 'all' (entirely) + 'in' (within) + 'jest' (a joke) so the meaning 'entirely as a joke / not meant seriously' is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
All in jest may come from the old job of a court jester. Imagine a jester whose words are always in jest (a joke), so saying something was all in jest means it was 'not meant to be taken seriously'.