tongue in cheek
Said with irony
Tongue in cheek describes something said or done with ironic or playful insincerity—appearing serious while actually joking.
A tongue-in-cheek remark keeps a straight face while winking underneath: His suggestion that we solve traffic by banning cars was entirely tongue in cheek.
The phrase works as an adverb or adjective.
- wink winkMarker of ironic intent
- nudge nudgeVerbal innuendo marker
- ironicalConveying opposite meaning
- unseriousLacking earnestness or gravity
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
said in jest · sarcasm · backhanded compliment · disingenuousness · wordplay · wry · wit · innuendo · double meaning · dry wit · satire · exaggeration · figures of speech · facetious · pulling your leg · insincere · with a grain of salt · rhetoric
- clever humordry wit, wordplay, clever wordplay, clever banter, puns
- witwit, witticism, quip, cleverness, repartee
- tonguetip, root, blade, dorsum, frenulum
- innuendoinnuendo, sexual innuendo, double entendre, double meaning, implied meaning
- Parody Typesspoof, satire, mockumentary, lampoon, pastiche
- subtle humorirony, dry wit, sarcasm, wordplay, deadpan
tongue in cheeksincere
Genuinely felt, not feigned
earnest · genuine · heartfelt · straight-faced · in earnest
tongue in cheekserious
Weighty and requiring attention
solemn · grave · dead serious · humorless · somber
tongue in cheekdirect
Undeviating or to guide
plain-speaking · straightforward · blunt · frank · plain-spoken
tongue, cheek, tongues, cheeks, tongued, cheeked, cheeky, cheekily, cheekiness