kid on the square

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Verb 1.2.1 See also

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Although dating back to the early 20th century, the phrase was popularized by Al Franken in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them when he describes the negative reaction of Paul Wolfowitz to one of his jokes.

[edit] Verb

to kid on the square (third-person singular simple present kids on the square, present participle kidding on the square, simple past and past participle kidded on the square)

1. To be joking, but at the same time really mean it.
   • 1907, Alfred Damon Runyon, "The Defense of Strikerville" in McClure's Magazine vol. 28 [1], page 379:

   "I'm kiddin' on the square," said Hanks.

   • 1977, Dan Rather and Mickey Herskowitz, The Camera Never Blinks [2], ISBN 0688031846, page 66:

   So I always knew what Pierce meant, in a kidding-on-the-square kind of way.

   • 2006, Stuart Ostrow, Present at the Creation [3], ISBN 1557836469, page 46:

   "At least he likes historical characters," I kidded on the square. No one laughed so I went to work recruiting other directors.

[edit] See also

• Kidding on the square on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Kidding on the square