How to Poke Fun at Someone (& Know When to Stop)

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Learn the art of playfully teasing your friends

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Last Updated: December 17, 2024 References

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Teasing Your Friends

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Keeping Your Teasing Kind

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Warnings

Learning to make fun of people the right way can be a good way of making friends with other people who have sarcastic senses of humor, as well as putting humorless mean people in their place. You can tease your friends in a nice way, cutting up and keeping conversations flowing with hilarity. See Step 1 to learn how to make fun of your friends.

Things You Should Know

Tease people by answering their questions super sarcastically and exaggerated.
Do over the top impressions of your friends or compare them to outrageous people and scenarios to get them laughing.
Don’t make fun of things that someone is sensitive about, such as their appearance. Make sure they know you’re joking and stop if they get upset.

Part 1

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Teasing Your Friends

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1
Be sarcastic. Nothing cuts to it quicker than a good sarcastic tone of voice. Using sarcasm implies that the other person is stupid just for asking a reasonable question, and it's usually pretty easy to pull off every now and then. It's a funny and light way to make fun of someone.^{[1]
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- Say the opposite of what you mean when someone asks you a specific question: "Yeah, I aced that test. I'm a mathlete, you didn't know? My professorship at MIT comes through next week."
- Give obviously-wrong answers to questions. If someone asks, "Where have you been?" a good sarcastic answer might be, "Me and Steve were up in the mountains skinning rabbits and trading the pelts for rocket supplies. The operation's really humming. Where have YOU been?"
- Exaggerate your response. If someone says, "You look like crap today" come back with, "Apologies, master. To the stocks with I. Shall I bring 'round the Pinto?"
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Go to source} It's usually even funnier to tease someone for something that's obviously not true. You're not "making fun" of a good friend who gets bad grades and might be sensitive about it to point that out by making a cruel joke and drawing attention to it, but it could be hilarious to tease your buddy who gets straight As in the same way.

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3
Tease someone about their smarts. Making fun of someone for their intelligence can be funny and effective, provided its not a sore spot of their identity:
- "Is that all the words you know? Stunning."
- "You can stop talking now. We're all getting dumber."
- "If I wanted to listen to that much crap I'd stick my head in a cow's butt."
- "I would sew my forehead to the carpet to get you to stop talking."
4
Tease someone about their looks. Picking on someone's clothes or hair can be a good way of teasing someone gently and making fun. Avoid picking on people's weight or skin, which can be sensitive areas and cross the line into bullying behavior.^{[3]
X
Research source} Instead, try on disses like this:
- "Nice shirt. Shopping in the douche section again?"
- "You dress like my dentist. Except you're not rich and you do nothing for me."
- "It smells like there are mice in your hair again. You should check."
- "Where I'm from, when people dress like that, they're trying to steal paint cans from my shed."
5
Use funny similes and metaphors. Channel your inner Lil Wayne and use weird similes to make fun of someone.^{[4]
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Research source} They don't necessarily have to make sense. You'll have people in stitches the weirder and the funnier they are. Embrace randomness and goofiness in your similes. Try on these for size:^{[5]
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- "You're dressed like Chairman Mao at a pool party. Seriously."
- "You look kind of like my uncle when he has a hangover from mouthwash."
- "You're like the Michael Jordan of being super annoying."
- "You smell like Hulk Hogan's shower."
6
Mock someone with a good impression.^{[6]
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Research source} If your friend has a particular way of speaking, walking, or doing something else, do an impression of them. Practice your impression so it's as close as possible. Next time they decide to one-up someone or make the same lame joke, let loose with your impression and you'll have everyone in stitches. It doesn't need to be accurate as much as it needs to be hilarious and over-the-top. A good impression might involve an exaggerated version of one of the following:
- a distinctive mannerism or gesture
- a common phrase the person uses
- a way of walking
- the person's accent or other verbal tic
You can do a lot to make fun of someone without saying anything at all. When your friend says something, react dramatically, as if they just said the dumbest thing you've ever heard. Roll your eyes, exhale loudly, and let your head fall forward and bang on the table. When everyone turns and looks at you, raise your head back up and say, "Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to that."
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Work on your timing. Learning the right comedic timing is everything when you're making fun of someone. The difference between being mean, letting a joke fall flat, and cutting to a great insult all has to do with the timing. Waiting for the right opportunity to let loose a sarcastic, eye-rolling, "Wow" can do just as much as a long-winded insult you spent hours practicing.^{[7]
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- Comedians use "beats," which are the length of about a breath, to let the previous statement sink in before coming back with the punch line. It's a better way to be funny than talking quickly and running over your own jokes.

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If you want to make fun of someone, make sure that it's coming from a place of friendship. It's ok to pick on your friends and your siblings, but aggressively making fun of people you don't know well could be taken as bullying.^{[8]
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Go to source} You don't know how they'll react, or how personally they'll take it, so be nice. Make friends first.
2
Know when to quit. Even if you're just teasing, you can take it too far. Make sure the person you're making fun of knows you're joking around and watch for signs that they may be taking it personally. Don't hurt someone's feelings by picking on them repeatedly about the same thing. That can be hurtful and mean.^{[9]
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- If you're making fun of someone and they withdraw from you and your friends, apologize to them later. Let them know you're just teasing and be nice to them for a while without making extra jokes.
Don't make fun of the same person all the time or they'll feel singled out. Spread it around. Don't make fun of someone more than once a week to play it safe. Tease your closest friends, and then be nice to them. Pick on someone else. You'll want to stay friends with someone even if you're making fun of them, so you have to be equally nice and equally hilarious.
If you're going to push people's buttons, you've got to let your buttons be pushed sometimes, too.^{[10]
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Research source} As long as you're with friends and you're all cutting up and teasing each other, it's all in good fun. Don't take insults or jokes personally and you'll earn yourself more credibility when you want to make fun in turn.^{[11]
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5
Avoid bullying behavior. Pick on someone your own size, both physically and emotionally. Make sure they can take it, or you'll be interpreted as a bully, and may even be punished as one. This is especially true at school. Give your little brother and the younger kids a break. They've got their own problems without you adding more.^{[12]
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Trustworthy Source

StopBullying.gov
Website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services providing information related to identifying and preventing bullying

Go to source}
- Never make someone for their race, sexual orientation, or other areas that they may be sensitive about. Everyone is fighting a big battle. Be nice.

Community Q&A

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Question

What if someone wants me to make fun of him but he can't be made fun of?

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Say, "I'd insult you but I'm afraid that I won't do as good a job as nature did."

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What should I do when someone teases me by making different names of the name I actually have?

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Laugh it off or just smile and look superior. If you show a negative reaction that lets them know it upsets you, they'll keep doing it. Ignore the action by saying nothing at all, just act as if the person is a slight irritant in your shoe, something you can live with but you're not going to let bother you.

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I have a really good friend in class, but his other friend doesn't let me talk to him and makes fun of me. How do I tease him back and teach him a lesson?

Community Answer

If this person is trying to stop your friend from talking to you, you should encourage your friend to stand up for himself. Aside from that, a standard, "Why don't you mind your own business?" or, "Why are you so obsessed with me?" is usually pretty effective.

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If you do upset somebody in that way, explain that you were trying to make them laugh, and apologise for hurting their feelings.^{[13]
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If you would like to successfully make fun of others in a productive manner, do not give up if your first attempts do not meet your expectations.

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Creative ways of fun of others will be better received and better remembered.

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Warnings

Excessively nefarious comments are unlikely to engender any social benefit to you; if your goal is increased closeness to someone, limit the negativity with which you make fun of them or others. In other word, don't piss people off.

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