tongue-in-cheek
adjectiveDefinition of tongue-in-cheek
(Entry 1 of 2)
: characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
tongue in cheek
adverbDefinition of tongue in cheek (Entry 2 of 2)
: with insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
Examples of tongue-in-cheek in a Sentence
Adverb
The whole interview was done tongue in cheek.Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
Scenes involving dismemberment have also been toned down, and gone are any explicit references to drugs (though some of the edits are definitely a bit tongue in cheek). — Tracy Brown, The Seattle Times, "How ‘Once Upon a Deadpool’ is different from ‘Deadpool 2,’ besides PG-13 rating," 12 Dec. 2018 Championship side Brentford have reacted in hilarious style to the harsh criticism their new away kit received from a fan on Twitter, sending the supporter a tongue in cheek letter along with some unusual special gifts. — SI.com, "Championship Side Brentford See the Funny Side of Fan's Kit Criticism With Hilarious Letter Response," 24 June 2018 Officers in Norwood, a town of 20,000 near Cincinnati, posted the advice, presumably tongue in cheek, on the Police Department's Facebook page. — Marie Simoneaux, NOLA.com, "Police investigating shooting in the 7th Ward: NOPD," 10 Feb. 2018 Turbojugend, for example, have rules, many rules, most of which are tongue in cheek, and many of which concern the Kutte. — Nancy Baym, WIRED, "Book Excerpt: How Music Fans Built the Internet," 10 July 2018 Costumes are theatrical, personalities are tongue in cheek — in no way does this event take itself too seriously. — Beth Spotswood, San Francisco Chronicle, "Pro wrestling gets a hold in the city, San Francisco style," 5 June 2018 Boyfriend combines high-speed rap screeds with tongue in cheek burlesque dancing to achieve one of the most unique vibes in the music biz. — Doug Maccash, NOLA.com, "Burlesque rapper Boyfriend blows away Jazz Fest 2018," 5 May 2018 The name is intended to be tongue in cheek and slightly subvert expectations. — Brianna Wellen, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Comedy / Music / Performing Arts The new Monday night show at Beauty Bar isn't Salonathon, it's Something Else," 21 Mar. 2018 However, those quotes were believed to have been made tongue in cheek, and Hazard has already gone on record in the recent past about how Conte have markedly improved his game during the Italian's time at the helm. — SI.com, "New £300k Contract in the Pipeline for Hazard as Chelsea Look to Ward off Real Madrid," 27 Sep. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tongue-in-cheek.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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