standing joke

1. Something that is always funny even though it is often repeated. For example, Mary's “Dennis who?” when her husband is mentioned is a standing joke around here. This idiom employs standing in the sense of “established” or “regular,” a usage dating from the mid-1500s.

Example Sentences

A standing joke between us is Gail saying, “And there’s another problem.”

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That deal brought to the C-suite the acquired company’s top management and its cost-cutting culture; in the Boeing corridors, the standing joke was that “McDonnell Douglas bought Boeing with Boeing’s money.”

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In the Boeing corridors, the standing joke was that “McDonnell Douglas bought Boeing with Boeing’s money.”

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"It is a sort of standing joke with Leeds fans that we always get two cup ties a season - one in the League Cup, and one in the FA Cup - before we get knocked out," Rix explained.

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“Comstockery is the world’s standing joke at the expense of the United States,” Shaw commented.

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