tongue-in-cheek
CulturalExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Subjects tackled in the art will include deceased celebrities, discontinued chocolate bars, extinct animals and destroyed buildings, presented in "Lycett's usual tongue-in-cheek and childlike style."
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
Old Navy’s is somewhat tasteful and tongue-in-cheek, offering a cable-knit cerulean sweater with a charming red high-heel logo, tote bags and tops with a few of the movie’s key phrases printed on them.
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026
An English-language debut by Russian director Kirill Sokolov, who also co-wrote its script, “They Will Kill You” is tongue-in-cheek but not witty, reveling in its excesses without bringing anything fresh to the party.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Though set in Ghost Town with period garb, there are modern flourishes, such as tongue-in-cheek nods to the theme park’s attractions and a damsel in distress who ultimately proves to be anything but.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
She gave me an A on the written report, saying she liked my tongue-in-cheek approach to criticism, but warned me to clean up the language and watch my run-on sentences.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
