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I most recently heard this in the context of a business deal:

Sorry gents, looks like we'll be taking the piss on that one.

I understood that the business had suffered a financial loss, although I expected I was missing some nuance.

In entirely different scenarios, I've heard piss used in British idiomatic phrasing that suggested a lack of concern, or carelessness. Those phrases are difficult to reconcile with the previously mentioned usage. Are there multiple idiomatic meanings for this word, or am I missing some kind of unifying theme?

Updated: I might not have a perfect recollection of the quote. But given the typical meaning of the phrase, I wonder if the speaker's intention was along the lines of "We'll be laughing about this later." Or maybe I just missed the real meaning.

Uticensis
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Anguish Languish
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  • Btw, I couldn't find any guidelines for a vulgarity threshold, and other questions have already used this word, so I didn't obscure it, e.g. "p*ss". – Anguish Languish Jan 31 '11 at 16:56
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    this seems to be an unusual use of the idiom to me – jk. Jan 31 '11 at 17:39
  • @jk01: It is, see my answer. – Orbling Jan 31 '11 at 17:57
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    "Taking the Mickey" is indeed a sanitised version of the more bladder-related "taking the piss", but only insofar as it assumes ignorance of rhyming slang. Just as no-one would be offended if called a "berk" unless they knew the derivation of the term. During the early 19th Century, the denizens of the London docks were fond of tales of roguery and drunkenness. One local who excelled himself was an Irish immigrant called Mickey Bliss, whose exploits earned him idiomatic immortality. –  Apr 03 '14 at 01:48
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    on looks strange, while out of would be more usual – Henry Mar 25 '22 at 09:56

5 Answers5

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That particular usage of "taking the piss", actually means "taking advantage of".

When said from the receiver's perspective it would be akin to "You have got to be joking!", "Are you taking the mick[ey]?", "Are you taking the piss?" - All enquiries as to whether they are being made fun out of, the more usual meaning, but with the implication that is not the case, and they are being taken advantage of.

In this context, said from the side of the entity taking advantage, it says "we will be taking the piss", we will be taking advantage of the other entity.

Particularly used where terms and conditions are particularly harsh, or the client is being screwed for far too much money.

Orbling
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    Yeah, I think you're right about the specific usage here. It's slightly non-standard though. – Noldorin Jan 31 '11 at 17:34
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    @Noldorin: Perfectly standard meaning, at least in companies I've been in, an alternate to the usual though. It is derived from that, as indicated mind, so it can get a bit confusing. – Orbling Jan 31 '11 at 17:56
  • @Orbling: Hah, fair enough. Maybe it depends on the environment you're in. ;) I belong to a (slightly) different generation too, which may explain! – Noldorin Jan 31 '11 at 21:25
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    You can see where this has come from. Both usages kind of mean mocking. If you take the piss out of ---, you're mocking them, having a laugh at their expense. In this usage, you're doing something that is so outrageous or ridiculous (not necessarily advantageous) that people may suspect you're mocking them when they find out, as Orbling said. – gpr Jan 31 '11 at 21:58
  • @gpr: Good way of phrasing it, the concept behind it is certainly that the act is outrageous to the extent that the person/company on the receiving end would hope that it was some kind of horrible joke. – Orbling Jan 31 '11 at 22:25
  • Oh, absolutely. I can see where the meaning comes from too, I just think it's not very common. – Noldorin Feb 01 '11 at 02:36
  • @Noldorin: I’d agree this less common than the basic “mocking” use, but I wouldn’t quite call it nonstandard — I’ve heard it from people of a variety of ages, places and social groups (including middle-aged, fairly conservative business-people in Yorkshire; students in Cambridge; young financial types in London), and I think in context, it would be understood by most Brits. – PLL Feb 01 '11 at 04:21
  • @Noldorin: It is not overly common in usage in the form given, from the opposite angle. It is almost always used from the receiving angle. The only instances I can see the above quote being used, are when talking to clients or staff about something that will not be good, say a wage cut or a price hike. – Orbling Feb 01 '11 at 12:22
  • @PLL: Well I can speak for my own age group and environment in London, and I will tell you it's pretty rare there. :) – Noldorin Feb 01 '11 at 14:10
  • @Noldorin: I'm 30, from North London - what is your age/region then? – Orbling Feb 01 '11 at 15:04
  • @Orbling: Nine years younger, also North London. I think the age explains it most, considering I'm in a student rather than corporate environment? – Noldorin Feb 01 '11 at 15:05
  • @Noldorin: Quite possibly, particularly as I am "old for my age", linguistically at least. I tend to use a much more archaic mode than my contemporaries. London varies so much even internally. If you put Bethnal Green, Harlesden, Barnet and Kensington all together, you will have four fairly distinct dialects within a few miles of each other. – Orbling Feb 01 '11 at 15:18
  • @Orbling: That's quite true. – Noldorin Feb 01 '11 at 15:39
  • In its broadest sense it indicates advantage is being taken of someone or something. The Krays 'took the piss' out of the Police by flaunting their wealth, power and apparent invulnerability. – immutabl May 27 '11 at 19:02
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    After about 6 years of being in total ignorance, I finally now get the idea behind Craig David's lyrics in the song "She's On Fire" where he says "she's so hot it's like she's straight taking the piss". Not sure I get it 100%, but I get what it doesn't mean now. :) lol –  Oct 17 '13 at 05:14
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    @DigitalArchitect: Yes, that's a similar use, from the other side. She's so attractive that it's as if she is mockingly beautiful, too attractive to be true. Straight is used there for emphasis, with a sense akin to absolutely or completely. – Orbling Oct 17 '13 at 14:55
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"Taking the piss" simply means "making fun of" in its usual context. It's a very common expression within Britain, but probably rare elsewhere. ("Taking the mickey" is a similar, slightly sanitised version, that perhaps is used elsewhere?)

The Wikipedia page gives a fairly good overview.

Noldorin
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Re the second part of your question: yes, there are many many many idiomatic uses of piss in British English! Just off the top of my head:

  • piss - urine, to urinate. (The main literal meaning, of course.)
  • take the piss out of (someone/something) - to make fun of.
  • pissed - drunk, roughly equivalent to hammered in AmE.
  • on the piss - out drinking, similar to on the town, on the tiles.
  • piss (someone) off - to offend, irritate, anger someone. (Hence: pissed off = angry, closely equivalent to AmE pissed.)
  • Piss off! - Go away! (Milder analogue of Fuck off!)
  • piss about (or around) - to mess around, do things that aren't really worthwhile.

More suggestions welcome in comments...

PLL
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  • "Are you taking the piss out of me?"

    "No mate, you're giving it away"

     – immutabl May 27 '11 at 19:03
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    'It's pissing it down with rain.' Re: Pissed - 'pissed as a fart' – immutabl May 27 '11 at 19:04
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    "pissing hell!" used primarily in the North of England. – immutabl May 27 '11 at 19:05
  • I believe American "pissed" came from "pissed off", so I would most likely not use "closely equivalent" to describe their relationship. – phoog Jun 24 '14 at 04:51
  • As a native Br E speaker, I've always felt 'pissed off' can mean anywhere from 'depressed' to 'angry' but always with a shade of disgruntlement or dissatisfaction. – peterG Jun 10 '16 at 13:52
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My understanding of this phrase breaks down to:

  • "Are you taking the piss [out of me]?"
  • "I'm just taking the piss [out of you]."

"Piss" in this interpretation could mean something like confidence (similar to the phrase "piss and vinegar"). In other words:

  • "Are you trying to make a fool of me?"
  • "Are you trying to cut me down a notch?"
  • Or in more modern parlance, "are you trolling?"

The dialogue you describe doesn't really make sense for that use of the phrase. "We'll be taking the piss" reads more as "we'll have the last laugh" to me.

Andrew Vit
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"Are you avin a laugh?/Is he avin a laugh?", like "Are you taking the piss?", are used (in London and other parts of Britain) in situations where John McEnroe would say "You cannot be serious, man!"

Tim Lymington
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West Ham Ted
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