take the piss
To tease, ridicule or mock (someone).
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My friends always take the piss out of my cooking.”
“He didn't mean to upset you — he's just taking the piss, like he does with everyone.”
“I realized he was taking the piss when he started mimicking my accent in front of the whole office during the lunch break.”
“The comedian spent half her set taking the piss out of politicians, which the audience loved but the sponsors feared.”
disputed origin
The expression is possibly a development of the term *piss-proud*, a mid-20th century descriptor for one who presents a false or unearned sense of success. Within this framework, to take the piss out of someone was to deflate their unfounded pride through the application of mockery or disparagement.
As the metaphorical use of *piss-proud* became dated, the phrase shifted in function. The act of taking the piss out of an individual came to refer to the disparagement itself, eventually detached from whether the subject possessed any particular vanity to be deflated. The shortened, intransitive form *taking the piss* later became the standard colloquialism for the general act of mockery.
- 01
be taken ill
To become ill.
- 02
Brahms
[Cockney slang]pissed
- 03
cat piss
Any beverage of low quality.
- 04
cross to take up
Alternative form of cross to bear.
- 05
forget to take one's medication this morning
To be annoyed or irritable, or to behave in an ill-mannered way, particularly in the morning.
- 06
full of piss and vinegar
Exuberant or enthusiastic, especially to an excessive degree; brazen.
- 07
get taken in
To be fooled; to fall for.
- 08
give and take
A process of compromise or accommodation.
Last updated August 10, 2026