take a joke

Idioms

Accept teasing at one's own expense, as in Sam really couldn't take a joke. This idiom, often put negatively, was first recorded in 1780. Also see take it.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cole replied: "Appreciate u king! People got to learn how to take a joke. It's all in fun."

From BBC

“We as conservatives need to be able to take a joke,” he told Fox in late July.

From Los Angeles Times

“We as conservatives should be able to take a joke; we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously.”

From Salon

The short-lived newlyweds “took a joke too far by getting married,” her record label said in a statement at the time.

From Los Angeles Times

The lawsuit, he said, had been an attempt “to ruin us financially and destroy our ability to offer commentary critical of organizations like theirs — all because they can’t take a joke.”

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023