take the piss

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Verb 1.1.1 Usage notes 1.1.2 Synonyms 1.1.3 Translations 1.1.4 See also

[edit] English

[edit] Verb

take the piss

1. (British, vulgar, slang, idiomatic) To ridicule or mock.

   • Are you takin' the piss? You'll get yer 'ead bashed in.
   • Everyone takes the piss out of the bankers these days.

[edit] Usage notes

• As this phrase may be found offensive, it is often bowdlerised to take the pee or censored in print as “take the p***” or, less commonly, “take the p—”. A common jocular euphemism is extract the urine, a formal equivalent of the literal meaning of the words.

Derived from the build-up of urine in the bladder puts pressure on the man's prostate gland, resulting in an erection. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, a man who was thought to be unnecessarily arrogant would be described as 'piss-proud'. If you were to ridicule someone for being too 'full of themself', you would 'take the piss' out of them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A753527

[edit] Synonyms

• take the mickey

[edit] Translations

• French: se foutre de la gueule fr(fr)
• Italian: prendere per il culo, prendere in giro
• Spanish: vacilar es(es), tomar el pelo es(es)

[edit] See also

• take a piss