verb
Meaning 1
To be joking, but at the same time really mean it.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
kid on the square
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
History
Etymology
Dates back to the early 20th century. Later popularized by Mose Allison in his 1983 song "Kidding on the Square" on the album Middle Class White Boy (described in the liner notes as "joking with serious intent") and later by Al Franken describing the negative reaction of Paul Wolfowitz to one of his jokes in the 2003 book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.