running joke

American  

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.

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Example Sentences

Tapping into current events, the running joke of their “Tiny Desk” appearance is that their work visas will expire immediately after performing.

From Los Angeles Times

The sheer scale and bureaucratic complexity of the organization was and still is a running joke.

From The Wall Street Journal

For reasons I couldn’t have explained at the time, let alone now, “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead” became a running joke in the early seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” delivered by Chevy Chase as host of its weekly mock news broadcast.

From Salon

There was even a running joke about making sure the appropriate guardrails were in place, “so that your Jarvis doesn’t turn into a Hal,” he said, referring to “2001’s” menacing superintelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal

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