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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

in-joke en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɪnˌd͡ʒoʊk/ (General-American)
  • (Received-Pronunciation) audio
  • /ˈɪnˌd͡ʒəʊk/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From in (“having familiarity or involvement with somebody”, adjective) + joke.

Meanings

  1. Synonym of inside joke (“a joke that is understood or meant to be understood only by certain people who are aware of the details”).
    • Well, it’s a bit of an in-joke, but Fred has been going to start that diet “tomorrow” for the last few months.
    • We have an in-joke; whenever someone sings a wrong note, they wipe the mistake off their music with an obvious gesture.
    • Intentionally or not, the movie [Ralph Breaks the Internet] makes Disney feel as enormous as the internet itself, containing a series of micro-targeted idiosyncrasies and in-jokes that are nonetheless controlled by a cultural monolith (whether that's Disney or whatever massive corporation owns your local ISP). 2018 November 14, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2019:
    • The marketing of this relatively new money has so far been limited mostly to ads on trade websites and targeted pushes on social media, where aficionados swap meme-fueled in-jokes about coin values rocketing to the moon. 2021 July 7, Tiffany Hsu, Coral Murphy Marcos, “Cryptocurrency Seeks the Spotlight, With Spike Lee’s Help”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2021:
    • Perhaps these quotations arose from some in-joke of Yule’s, but whatever the case the lexicographical worth of these citations is dubious. 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 494:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
in-jokes Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

in-jokey

Relateds

in-group · joke

Synonyms

private joke · inside joke