Thread: To take the piss

Hello, can anyone suggest a good translation of "to take the piss"?

Eg. My friends took the piss out of me for wearing yellow jeans.

издеваться doesn't seem "slangy" enough.

Spasibo zaranee!

прикАлываться.
Они прикАлывались надо мной.
Они прикалываются надо мной (present).

Thanks - I know this verb but it doesn't seem very slangy......

Eg. My friends took the piss out of me for wearing yellow jeans.

Мои друзья уссываются надо мной, потому что я ношу желтые джинсы.

“Уссаться можно” is a vulgar equivalent of “lol”.

уссываться-определения

Кореша тащатся с моих желтых джынсов.

Note that "to take the piss out of someone" is different from "to take the piss" -- and neither one should be confused with "to take a piss," which simply means "to urinate."

"To take the piss" is somewhat similar to the Internet usage of "fake trolling", sometimes called "frolling" -- when you sarcastically pretend to believe things that you don't, for instance, in order to provoke a reaction from another person:

JACK: Did you see the latest X-Men sequel? Don't bother -- I liked the others, but this one was totally gay.
BILL: For your information, I happen to be a gay person, and your homophobia is cruel and hurtful!!!
JACK: Oh my gosh, I'm sorry... that was very rude of me... I thought that you were straight...
BILL: Assuming that all other people are straight is OPPRESSIVE HETERONORMATIVITY!!!
JACK: Really, really, I'm not homophobic! I'm sorry, honestly! I didn't know you were gay!
BILL: Actually, I am straight -- I was just taking the piss.

So, you can see this is different from laughing at someone for their ugly jeans, which is "taking the piss out of someone."

Both these expressions are rarely used in US English, by the way.

A close U.S. equivalent for "to take the piss" (in the sense that Bill did to Jack) would be "to jerk (or "yank") someone's chain." So if Bill were American, he could say "Actually, I'm straight -- I was only jerking your chain."

There's probably a double etymology to this expression: on the one hand, it can literally refer to pulling on a dog's chain in order to tease the dog, but it can also be understood as a euphemism for "to jerk someone off" -- i.e., дрочить. (And I'm fairly sure that one can vulgarly say дрочить кого-н. as a translation for UK "take the piss" and US "jerk the chain.")

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

(And I'm fairly sure that one can vulgarly say дрочить кого-н. as a translation for UK "take the piss" and US "jerk the chain.")

No, дрочить кого-н usually means to ruthlessly make someone work hard like slave, to have strict requirements, instructions, etc. It's mostly used in military or when talking about job. It also means to repeatedly annoy someone with requests and questions.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

Note that "to take the piss out of someone" is different from "to take the piss"

This isn't the case, at least for UK English. The phrases can mean the same. "Stop taking the piss" and "Stop taking the piss out of him" have the same basic meaning, if you want someone to stop mocking someone. A (UK) alternative is to "take the mickey". (Wikipedia is wrong about this.)

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

"To take the piss" is somewhat similar to the Internet usage of "fake trolling", sometimes called "frolling" -- when you sarcastically pretend to believe things that you don't, for instance, in order to provoke a reaction from another person:

Yes, it can also mean this - but I wanted the Russian for the first use.


NB It can also be used (in UK, not colonial, English (joke, Robert)) when someone is going too far. You agree to babysit for some friends and they say they'll be back at ten but turn up at 2 am - you can quite reasonably say "You're both taking the piss!"

Thanks for the Russian suggestions!