standing joke

Idioms  

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.

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Example Sentences

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.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2025

"It's kind of a standing joke at the test centre where we say 'oh, that's £30 for the lesson and 45 for the consultation'," she said.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2023

This became a standing joke around our dinner table, as we exaggeratedly declared our immense dislikes, sometimes using a fake British accent.

From Washington Post • Sep. 13, 2022

Our standing joke is that media criticism is like asbestos abatement: it’s dangerous, tends to get all over you and should be left to the experts.

From Fox News • Jan. 13, 2020

My grandfather and I had a standing joke.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath