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Another Biscuit Island Banger (hexbear.net)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/britishproblems@feddit.uk
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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7647804

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[–] 8 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (7 children)

so. its funny. but I have been meaning to ask on a british community about taking a (edited - I think I meant the) piss. Sometimes by context I feel it means screwing with someone and sometimes I feel it means loafing around. Am I off?

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  • [–] 8 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Taking a piss means going to urinate.

    Taking the piss means screwing with someone, specifically by saying stuff you don’t believe as if you believe it.

    I’ve never heard any variation on this phrase to mean loafing around as a euphemism, but taking frequent bathroom breaks is definitely a time-honored way of avoiding work.

    Full disclosure: I am not British

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  • [–] 9 points 8 months ago

    Taking the piss can mean going too far with some form of poor behaviour, usually at work, eg taking a two hour lunch hour might be taking the piss, or sparking up a joint during a ciggie break.

    But it can also be in a social, non-work content: "It's fair enough to ask for petrol money, but Bob was taking the piss when he asked for a quid a mile, the cheeky cunt."

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Surprisingly, there is actually a wiki page on the matter:

    Wikipedia.org - Taking the Piss

    Roughly covers the following:
    1

    • mocking someone
    • making a joke at someone's expense

    2

    • saying/doing something unbelievable
    • doing something unfair
    • taking more than your fair share

    "Are you taking the piss?" is pretty similar to "You've got to be joking, mate!" or "are you fucking kidding me!?!"

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    It is "the" lol. Taking a piss means going to the toilet, taking the piss is taking the mick, ie behaving with a mocking disregard for others.

    Wrt loafing around, you might be taking the piss if you're not doing something, eg your household chores. It's not the laying around that takes the piss, it's that you're not doing what you're supposed to do. It takes the piss out of others when they have to pick up the slack for you.

    Like a lot of British phrases, there's some flexibility in its usage.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago

    ok. I think im starting to understand the variety of ways I have seen it used on tv. This I think is the best explanation yet especially with the take the piss out of others. like that phrasing fits it better in my head.

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