take a joke


Accept teasing at one's own expense, as in Sam really couldn't take a joke. This idiom, often put negatively, was first recorded in 1780. Also see take it.

Words Nearby take a joke

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.