running joke

noun

1. a joke or humorous allusion used recurrently in a play, film, television skit, etc., for a cumulative comic effect.

2. a subject, reference, remark, etc., that is a continual source of humor.

Example Sentences

Anyone who's watched their YouTube series will know they're more interested in having fun - I.N. dressing up as a grandma; Changbin dunking Seungmin in a swimming pool; or the running joke about their record label supplying inedible birthday cakes.

From BBC

The inevitable losses incurred by Bargatze’s charity gimmick provided a sort of running joke at the host’s expense, which he managed quite well, while some winners made a game of trying to put money back on the board.

From Los Angeles Times

For years, video game adaptations were viewed almost as a running joke in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a running joke amongst my friends and me that a bowl of lychees hates to see me coming.

From Salon

The film’s running joke is that Forrest happens to stumble into moments of great consequence, usually as a witness but sometimes as the accidental force that pushes history along.

From Salon