in-joke

American  

[in-johk] / ˈɪnˌdʒoʊk /

noun

1. a joke that can be understood or appreciated only by the members of a limited group of people.

---

Etymology

Origin of in-joke

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

She even dropped his name into one episode as an in-joke.

From BBC • May 25, 2025

That's exactly why Kneecap’s two principal rappers, who go by the in-joke names Mo Chara and Móglai Bap, grew up in Irish-speaking families.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

She’s articulate about how she does them, but there’s a mystery to Kirby’s best performances, an in-joke only she gets.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2023

Or maybe it’s an in-joke, visual shorthand for powerful A.I. systems that seem suspiciously nice.

From New York Times • May 30, 2023

We kept it going for years and years—it became a sort of in-joke, I suppose—and it all started from one particular lesson we had when we were pretty young.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro