British / Irish / Australian: mocking or messing around.
British / Irish / Australian: mocking or messing around. Can be friendly teasing or a serious accusation — "you're taking the piss" = "you're being unreasonable."
"He charged us £9 for chips. Taking the piss."
'Taking the piss' is British and Irish English meaning either (1) mocking someone, or (2) acting unreasonably / pushing one's luck. 'Are you taking the piss?' = 'are you joking / being unreasonable?'. Mildly vulgar but widely acceptable in British conversation. If your teen uses it, they are using everyday British slang. Harmless among friends; would not appear in formal writing.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Add your own interpretation of "taking the piss".
Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
See all Australian & NZ slang slang on Slangora.
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To tease, ridicule or mock (someone).
To subject those present to teasing, ridicule or mockery, or to show contempt.
To be outrageously unreasonable.
British slang for a person who takes the piss — that is, someone who mocks, teases, or tests the limits of what others will put up with. A piss-taker might be pushing your patience with outrageous demands, pulling someone's leg with an elaborate wind-up, or just relentlessly taking the mickey. The term ranges from affectionate to genuinely critical depending on tone and context. In the right company, being called a piss-taker is practically a compliment.
Lead singer Michael Stipe once said that he hoped everyone had enough sense of humor to realize that he was "kind of taking the piss of everyone," himself included.
'Taking the piss' is British and Irish English meaning either (1) mocking someone, or (2) acting unreasonably / pushing one's luck. 'Are you taking the piss?' = 'are you joking / being unreasonable?'. Mildly vulgar but widely acceptable in British conversation. If your teen uses it, they are using everyday British slang. Harmless among friends; would not appear in formal writing.
'Taking the piss' is British and Irish English with two related senses: (1) mocking, teasing, or making fun of someone or something ('he's just taking the piss'); (2) acting unreasonably or pushing one's luck ('£20 for a coffee? They're taking the piss'). Mildly vulgar but widely acceptable in casual British conversation across most settings. In formal English use 'mocking' or 'being unreasonable'. A common learner mistake is to use it in American English, where it is largely unknown and may shock listeners with its literal reading.
“They are taking the piss after rape charges. #Donaldson”
“I like Australians and Margot Robbie I also like taking the piss”
“Lead singer Michael Stipe once said that he hoped everyone had enough sense of humor to realize that he was "kind of taking the piss of everyone," himself included.”
“It is a shortening of the idiom taking the piss out of, which is an expression meaning to mock, tease, joke, ridicule, or scoff.”
“Taking the piss is a colloquial term meaning to either mock at the expense of others, or to be joking, without the element of offence; or to be "unfair" and take more than is warranted.”
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(British, slang) A person who takes the piss.