standing joke

Idioms & Phrases

standing joke

Something that is always funny even though it is often repeated. For example, Mary's "Dennis who?" when her husband is mentioned is a standing joke around here. This idiom employs standing in the sense of "established" or "regular," a usage dating from the mid-1500s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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