to joke about
80
2.9
- phrasal verb
- /dʒoʊk əˈbaʊt/
:
bromear sobre
- Mr. Spencer joked about that controversy and said the salute was all in fun.
- don't even joke about
You know what they say, people joke about things they want to do.
- You know what they say, people joke about things they want to do.
- We joke about the wife being the ball and chain.
- Like the reaction to it is you can't joke about that.
Examples
-
Apparently, Mary Jo had decided it was safe to joke about that subject.
Fiction book (1992) -
Why would I joke about that?
-
We joke about the wife being the ball and chain.
-
When I was in prison, I used to joke about him.
-
We used to joke about how New Jersey was a good place to be from.
Fiction book (1993) -
His own father used to call him "King Henry" and joke about how high and mighty he was.
Fiction book (1998) -
Jon and I joke about being a couple, but it's just jokes!
-
And we shake our heads at Hussein and joke about him doing the same thing.
Blog text (5) -
"Smiles in the church basement flickered, and Riley never again joked about his rehabilitation."
Fiction book (1997) -
We often joke about how our friend can never be on time.
Synonyms
∞
3.5
To tease someone in a friendly, playful way
456
2.0
To make fun of someone in a mean way to show they are silly
307
2.3
Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed
108
4.6
To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them
25
3.9
To make jokes about someone to make them look silly
23
3.4
To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind
11
5.7
To say or do something as a joke to make people laugh
10
2.9
Tell a joke to make people laugh
4
8.4
To make sarcastic mocking remarks that are often rude
4
8.1
To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas
2
7.5
To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them
1
9.1
To tease someone by making jokes about them in a friendly way
Tease someone by making jokes about them
Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke
How Mocking
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to make humorous or mocking remarks regarding X' is directly derivable from combining 'joke' (to speak or act playfully) with 'about' (introducing the topic). This verb + preposition pattern is compositional and common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Joke about comes from the simple image of someone using a joke to point at a person or thing, so the laugh is about that subject. That's why it means 'to make humorous or mocking remarks' about someone or something.