tongue-in-cheek

• tongue in cheek

This phrase alludes to the facial expression created by putting one's tongue in one's cheek. The term first appeared in print in 1828,^[1] but it isn't entirely clear that it was used with the modern, rather than a literal, sense. A later citation from Richard Barham is unambiguous.^[2]

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tongue-in-cheek (comparative more tongue-in-cheek, superlative most tongue-in-cheek)

1. (idiomatic) Not intended seriously; jocular or humorous.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:witty

   He gave a tongue-in-cheek explanation of why the sky was blue, offering a theory about some primordial discount on light blue paint.

   • 2021 December 29, Conrad Landin, “Glasgow Subway: a city institution”, in RAIL, number 947, page 45:

     It was in this era, too, that author and Scotland the Brave songwriter Cliff Hanley penned The Glasgow Underground, a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the Subway in song.

   • 2025 August 4, Mike Isaac, “A.I. Has Ushered in Silicon Valley’s ‘Hard Tech’ Era”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 4 August 2025:

     The tongue-in-cheek sendup wasn’t far from Silicon Valley’s reality.

tongue-in-cheek (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) With contempt.
2. With irony.

   He portrayed them tongue-in-cheek as great lawgivers, as Solons.

• “tongue-in-cheek”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• tongue-in-cheek on Wikipedia.Wikipedia