private joke

noun

: a joke only understood by the few people who know what it refers to

Examples of private joke in a Sentence

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However, the unexpected theme certainly had an impact on the public, especially those who were not in on the private joke. Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026 The grade school kids at A Minecraft Movie had a rollicking good time laughing, talking back to the screen, and doing karaoke repetitions of the dialogue as though appreciating something of their own — a familiar, private joke, a playground, a fun movie. Armond White, National Review, 16 Apr. 2025 Toné! came from a private joke about a mutual friend’s name. Clay Risen, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025 The world is a private joke between me and my thangs. Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 27 Feb. 2025 The 16-year-old was expelled and charged with threatening mass violence, even though his school acknowledged the video was intended as a private joke. Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 2024 Two women sharing a weirdly private joke in a public place. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2023 But in rare photos that capture King breaking into a huge, uninhibited grin, Belafonte is often at his side, hugging him and sharing some private joke. John Blake, CNN, 25 Apr. 2023

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“Private joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20joke. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.

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