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Glite Dictionary
to razz my berries

to razz my berries

1 9.9
To tease someone in a friendly, playful way
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : burlarme
  • He loves to razz my berries whenever I make a silly mistake.

Examples

  • Whenever we're together, she can't help but razz my berries for fun.

  • Don't razz my berries like that!

  • Don't razz my berries about my new haircut, okay?

  • She loves to razz my berries during lunch.

  • She loves to razz my berries whenever she sees me in a silly outfit.

  • Don't razz my berries; I was just trying to be funny.

  • He playfully razzed my berries about my terrible dance moves at the party.

Synonyms

to tease
vsto razz my berries
245 1.9

To make fun of someone in a way that annoys them

is gentler and more purely playful rather than often provoking
to poke fun
vsto razz my berries
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

is more good-natured and less aimed at making someone feel foolish
to bust my chops
vsto razz my berries
  • Informal
7 9.3

To tease or criticize someone in a friendly way

is lighter and more simply playful rather than persistent criticism
to razz
vsto razz my berries
  • Informal
5 9.1

To tease someone in a playful or annoying way

is milder and more lighthearted rather than strongly mocking
to chaff
vsto razz my berries
  • UK
1 7.5

To joke or tease someone in a friendly way

can be more teasing and slightly more likely to annoy than pure joking
to take the mickey
vsto razz my berries
  • Slang
1 9.1

To tease someone by making jokes about them in a friendly way

is similar but can be used more to mildly bother someone
to get someone's goat
vsto razz my berries
  • Informal
8.4

To annoy someone or make them angry

is playful and meant to amuse rather than to purely irritate
to get on someone's wick
vsto razz my berries
  • UK
9.9

To annoy someone by doing the same small things again and again

is more playful and lighthearted rather than straightforward irritation

How Teasing

to pester
34 3.2
to annoy
246 1.0
to tease
245 1.9
to razz my berries
  • Archaic
1 9.9
to joke
476 1.0

Surface Forms

razz my berries infinitive
razzed my berries past
razzed my berries past participle
razzing my berries present participle
razzes my berries third person singular

Morphology

razz + mine + berries

The verb 'razz' already means 'to tease', and in the construction 'razz my berries' the object 'my berries' functions as the target of teasing; a B1 learner who knows 'razz' and the possessive 'my' will readily infer the overall sense. Although 'berries' is a playful or idiomatic choice of object rather than a literal referent, it does not obscure the core meaning derived from the constituents.

Etymology

Razz my berries probably comes from the rude, silly noise called a 'raspberry', which is often shortened to razz, with berries added as a playful rhyme. So, it came to mean 'to tease or annoy in a light, playful way'.