just joking
- idiom
- Informal
- I'm just joking with you.
- just joking around
- say, "just joking"
- No, I'm just joking
All right, So I know that sometimes this is just a phrase that said in jazz, you're just joking, you're being playful.
- All right, So I know that sometimes this is just a phrase that said in jazz, you're just joking, you're being playful.
- And then he was just so like clingy and like just so uncomfortable that me and Alyssa were just joking around about it.
- And then I was obviously I was just joking and I returned it.
- You know, it's like your show, but just joking.
- No, I think if there's Zillow, I'm just joking.
- No just joking around with my staff in the control room that's that happens before every single episode.
- So, you know, there's just different types of folks just joking, man.
Examples
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I'm sorry, I was just joking about the C thing.
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Hey, man, we're just joking.
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Oh, I was just-- just joking around.
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No, no, I'm just joking.
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"He was just joking," she said, surprised at the intensity of his tone.
Fiction book (1993) -
You guys, he's just joking around.
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We were just joking.
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I was just joking.
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Oh, I'm just joking.
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I told her I'd quit my job, but I was just joking.
Synonyms
Said or done as a joke and not meant seriously
In a joking way not meant to be taken seriously
Said or done to be funny rather than serious
People say it as a joke and do not mean it seriously
In a funny way that makes people laugh
In a joking way that is not meant to be taken seriously
Joking and not meant to be taken seriously
Meant to be funny, not serious
Said to show a previous statement was a joke
To say or do something in a joking way without being serious
In a joking way to make people laugh
Said or done as a joke and not meant to be serious
In a joking way that is not serious
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'used to say that what was said was meant humorously and not seriously' is directly and transparently derived from 'just' (merely/only) combined with 'joking' (being humorous). This limiting + participial construction is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Just joking comes from the simple image of someone saying something sharp, then adding just and joking with a smile to show it was a joke. So, it tells people you were 'not serious'.