taking the piss
What does taking the piss mean? taking the piss is a English moderate that translates to “mocking / joking / taking advantage” in English.
Literal Translation
extracting the urine
Meaning & Usage
01
"mocking / joking / taking advantage"
One of the most essential British English phrases with no clean American equivalent. It means three different things: 1) mocking someone ('are you taking the piss?'), 2) joking around ('I'm just taking the piss'), 3) taking unfair advantage ('£20 for parking? They're taking the piss'). Context determines which.
Examples in the Wild
'Are you taking the piss?' can mean 'are you serious?', 'are you mocking me?', or 'are you trying to scam me?' — and you have to figure out which from context.