running joke

noun

a joke or humorous allusion used recurrently in a play, film, television skit, etc., for a cumulative comic effect.
a subject, reference, remark, etc., that is a continual source of humor.

A running joke inside the tribe is that the group is like that club with a hundred people waiting outside to get in.

“The One With the Giant Poking Device” Ugly Naked Guy was a brilliant running joke on Friends.

A running joke inside the intelligence community is that NSA stands for “no such agency.”

Accidentally sleeping with a relative has been a running joke in Icelandic culture for a while.

Comcast and Verizon...well, it just got to the point of being a running joke.

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