Word.ws English Dictionary

the joke's on someone

the joke's on someone phrase: used to point out that someone tried to say something smart but it came out foolish.

Phrase

the joke's on someone

  1. Used to point out that someone tried to say something smart but it came out foolish.
    • Person #1: You must give me exactly half of the money you earned.
    • Person #2: The joke's on you! I earned exactly $0.00, so you get nothing, too!

Questions about the joke's on someone

What does the joke's on someone mean?
The joke's on someone means used to point out that someone tried to say something smart but it came out foolish.
What part of speech is the joke's on someone?
The joke's on someone is a phrase.

Words near the joke's on someone in the dictionary

  1. the Internet never forgets
  2. the jig is up
  3. the job is oxo
  4. the job's a good 'un
  5. the joke is on someone
  6. the joke's on someone
  7. the jokes write themselves
  8. the jug goes to the well until it breaks
  9. the juice is worth the squeeze
  10. The Junction
  11. the jury is still out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the joke's on someone (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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