What it means
To take the mickey is to mock or tease someone, taking the rise out of them for a laugh. It ranges from gentle banter between mates to proper relentless piss-taking, and if someone is taking the mickey out of a situation it can also mean they are pushing their luck or being downright cheeky.
Usage examples
"Are they being serious about the prices or just taking the mickey?"
"Stop taking the mickey out of my haircut, it cost me a fortune."
Where it comes from
A polite stand-in for the cruder "take the piss", cleaned up so you can say it in front of your nan. Theories link the mickey to old rhyming slang, but the family-friendly version is the one that stuck.
Other ways to say it
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