Workplace Humour Idioms

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20 Workplace Humour Idioms

Hey there! 👋

Have you ever been in an office chat or meeting and heard phrases like “pull someone’s leg” or “have a laugh” and wondered what they really mean?

You’re not the only one. 😁

That’s exactly why I created this hub page for Workplace Humour Idioms.

It brings together the expressions my students ask about most.

These workplace humour idioms appear frequently in:

light-hearted banter
informal conversations
friendly emails at work

Once you understand them, workplace humour becomes much clearer.

You’ll get the jokes more easily and feel more comfortable joining in with the team.

Each idiom on this page includes:

a clear explanation
a realistic workplace example
a short quiz to help you practise using it correctly
a link to a full idiom page

You can use this page:

as a reference
to explore the idioms below
to return to it whenever you want to understand workplace humour more naturally in English

Happy learning, and I hope to see you in the next lesson!

Teacher Rob 🙋‍♂️

🤪 Acting Silly to Entertain Others

1. 👉 Play the Fool (v)

Meaning: Act silly to make people laugh.
Example: He played the fool at the office party.

2. 👉 Play the Clown (v)

Meaning: Act silly to amuse others.
Example: He played the clown to relax the team.

3. 👉 Be a Joker (n)

Meaning: A person who likes telling jokes.
Example: She is a joker in the office.

4. 👉 A Wag (n)

Meaning: Someone who enjoys joking.
Example: The office wag made everyone laugh.

5. 👉 Be a Prankster (n)

Meaning: Someone who plays jokes on others.
Example: He is known as the office prankster.

😹 PlayfulTeasing and Joking

6. 👉 Pull Someone’s Leg (v)

Meaning: Joke or tease someone.
Example: She pulled his leg about the report.

7. 👉 Take the Mickey (v)

Meaning: Make fun of someone playfully.
Example: They took the mickey out of his haircut.

8. 👉 Poke Fun at Someone (v)

Meaning: Make gentle jokes about someone.
Example: They poked fun at his new desk.

9. 👉 A Ribbing (n)

Meaning: Friendly teasing.
Example: A little ribbing helped the team relax.

10. 👉 Have Banter (v)

Meaning: Exchange playful jokes.
Example: The team enjoys friendly banter.

🎭 Jokes, Pranks, and Light Moments

11. 👉 Play a Prank on Someone (v)

Meaning: Trick someone as a joke.
Example: They played a prank on the manager.

12. 👉 A Wind-up (n)

Meaning: A playful trick.
Example: The prank was just a wind-up.

13. 👉 Share a Joke (v)

Meaning: Tell a joke to others.
Example: He shared a joke during the meeting.

14. 👉 Make Light of Something (v)

Meaning: Treat a serious thing humorously.
Example: She made light of the mistake.

15. 👉 Give Someone a Hard Time (v)

Meaning: Tease someone playfully.
Example: They gave him a hard time on his first day.

⚠️ Humour That Can Go Too Far

16. 👉 A Laugh at Someone’s Expense (n)

Meaning: Laughing by embarrassing someone.
Example: It is wrong to laugh at someone’s expense.

17. 👉 To Needle Someone (v)

Meaning: Tease someone again and again.
Example: He kept needling his coworker.

18. 👉 Put Someone Down (v)

Meaning: Criticise or insult someone.
Example: Putting people down hurts teamwork.

19. 👉 Give Someone a Hard Time (v)

Meaning: Repeated teasing.
Example: The jokes gave her a hard time.

20. 👉 Make Light of Something (v)

Meaning: Use humour about a problem to make it seem less.
Example: He made light of the delay.

There you go — a practical set of Workplace Humour Idioms you can start recognising and using right away.

You’ll soon notice these expressions in:

office chats
team lunches
informal meetings
friendly emails

Now you’ll understand exactly what they mean and how to use them appropriately in professional settings.

Which idiom stood out to you the most?

My personal favourite is “pull someone’s leg” because it’s such a classic example of friendly teasing at work.

Let me know your favourite in the comments below.

I always enjoy hearing from you.

Ready to continue learning?

Explore our other idiom guides covering:

Check out my 👉 A-Z idiom category list to see more.

Happy learning,

Teacher Rob 🙋‍♂️

Need help learning the idioms?

Check out my 👉 Best Way to Learn Idioms Quickly Page

ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

We hope you enjoyed our Workplace Humour Idioms.

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