half-joking

half-joke

H h

Definitions of half-joking word

noun half-joking something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him. 1
noun half-joking something that is amusing or ridiculous, especially because of being ludicrously inadequate or a sham; a thing, situation, or person laughed at rather than taken seriously; farce: Their pretense of generosity is a joke. An officer with no ability to command is a joke. 1
noun half-joking a matter that need not be taken very seriously; trifling matter: The loss was no joke. 1
noun half-joking something that does not present the expected challenge; something very easy: The test was a joke for the whole class. 1
noun half-joking practical joke. 1
verb without object half-joking to speak or act in a playful or merry way: He was always joking with us. 1

before 1660

One of the 46% oldest English words

First recorded in 1660-70, joke is from the Latin word jocus jest

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".