Joshing
[josh] /dʒɒʃ/
verb (used with or without object)
1.
to chaff; banter in a teasing way.
noun
2.
good-natured banter.
/dʒɒʃ/
verb
1.
to tease (someone) in a bantering way
noun
2.
a teasing or bantering joke
v.
“to make fun of, to banter,” 1845, American English, probably from the familiar version of the proper name Joshua, but just which Joshua, or why, is long forgotten. Perhaps it was taken as a typical name of an old farmer. The word was in use earlier than the career of U.S. humorist Josh Billings, pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885), who did not begin to write and lecture until 1860; but his popularity after 1869 may have influence that of the word.
About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment. [“Josh Billings”]
Related: Joshed; joshing.
noun
: It was just a tasteless little josh (1978+)
verb
To joke;banter; kid: continued Brian, unwilling to be joshed out of it (1845+)
[origin unknown; the earliest example is capitalized, suggesting a proper name; Eric Partridge gives ”a country man; a rustic” as one sense, so perhaps the primary meaning is ”to behave like a bumpkin” or ”to fool one by seeming to be a rural simpleton”]
Read Also:
- Joshua
[josh-oo-uh] /ˈdʒɒʃ u ə/ noun 1. the successor of Moses as leader of the Israelites. Deut. 31:14, 23; 34:9. 2. a book of the Bible bearing his name. Abbreviation: Josh. 3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “God is salvation.”. /ˈdʒɒʃʊə/ noun (Old Testament) 1. Moses’ successor, who led the Israelites in […]
- Joshua fit the battle of jericho
An American spiritual, based on the story of Joshua, the successor of Moses in the Old Testament, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. It begins: Joshua fit [fought] the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho; Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, And the walls came tumbling down.
- Joshua-tree
noun 1. an evergreen tree, Yucca brevifolia, growing in arid or desert regions of the southwestern U.S., having long, twisted branches. noun 1. a treelike desert yucca plant, Yucca brevifolia, of the southwestern US, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers
- Josiah
[joh-sahy-uh] /dʒoʊˈsaɪ ə/ noun 1. Also, Douay Bible, Josias [joh-sahy-uh s] /dʒoʊˈsaɪ əs/ (Show IPA). a king of Judah, reigned 640?–609? b.c. II Kings 22. 2. a male given name. /dʒəʊˈsaɪə/ noun 1. died ?609 bc, king of Judah (?640–?609). After the discovery of a book of law (probably Deuteronomy) in the Temple he began […]
- Josie
[joh-zee, -see] /ˈdʒoʊ zi, -si/ noun 1. a female given name, form of .