# bad joke

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/bad-joke
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A situation that is badly planned, or illogical.

## Examples

- The new office schedule is a bad joke.
- After waiting three hours for a bus that never arrived, he realized the entire transit system was a bad joke.
- The committee's proposal to solve the housing crisis with such limited funding was widely considered a bad joke by the experts involved.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.