I probably could ask Bob this question as it came from his book, "Anyone Can Do It," but I thought I'd ask the board. What is meant by "take the piss"? Is this an English phrase? We might say "take a piss," which would mean to urinate. Is that what it means? Urinate didn't seem to fit with the context.

To "take the piss" means to mock or ridicule. Often used in the phrase "you're taking the piss, aren't you?" meaning "you can't be serious", for instance if someone quotes a ridiculously high price for something. I believe it's mainly used in Britain and some Commonwealth countries. A more polite version is "taking the mickey".

There are various theories as to its origin. My favourite dates from the Industrial Revolution in Britain, when urine was used in the process of dyeing wool. Boatmen transporting barrels of urine along the canals would naturally be reluctant to disclose their actual cargo, so they'd claim to be carrying wine. This would be met with a disbelieving "no, you're taking the piss!"

I'd never heard that origin before. I love it. I don't believe a word of it but I love it anyway.

Is there an equivalent US phrase, beyond the obvious ones like "you must be joking" or John Macenroe's famous "You cannot be serious" ?

Interestingly you very occasionally hear the facetious variant "extracting the urine".

The common US equivalent is, "You're shitting me," or "No shit?" We seem more solid excrement-oriented for some reason.

That is a little old, isn't it Geoff? I will ask my daughter what is in vogue now.

Well, my daughter said she couldn't think of anything else. She'd say "no shit?" but not "You're shitting me."

So, there you have it from a 20-something...

[For the record, as her mother I am not happy with the "no shit?" ]

You also hear "no shit" or sometimes "no shit, Sherlock" here in the UK but it doesn't mean the same as "taking the piss".

"Taking the piss" means that someone is joking or saying something that's ridiculous - such as asking an outrageous price for something they are trying to sell to you.

"No shit" and "no shit, Sherlock" mean that you have said something that's so completely obvious it wasn't worth saying. Thanks to the influence of American TV we also here "Well, duh!" with the same meaning.

Lately, what I've been hearing is just "Seriously?" instead of "no shit?"

As for saying that someone else is being taken or teased, I would say that "they're messing with you" is a more polite way of saying "they're shittin' you".

Also, I've heard "you fuckin with me?" or "they're just fuckin' with you".

Shit doesn't seem so bad now, does it, Kalleh?

Nah, not after that. The fact is, though, I have never liked "shit." It just seems so crass to me.

A similar word to "seriously?" that I hear a lot now is "really?" It's hard to write because you have to use a certain tone when you say it.