butt of a joke

the butt of a/the joke

The target of a joke; the person or subject being mocked or ridiculed. My big brother loves to tease me—every time he opens his mouth, I'm the butt of the joke. No one likes being the butt of a joke, but the best thing to do is just laugh with them.
See also: butt, joke, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

butt of a joke

the reason for or aim of a joke, especially when it is a person. Poor Fred was the butt of every joke told that evening.
See also: butt, joke, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • rib
  • rib (one)
  • sport with
  • sport with (someone or something)
  • put (one) on
  • put on
  • put someone on
  • take the rise (out of) (someone or something)
  • take the rise out of someone/something
  • give somebody grief
References in periodicals archive
Tory high command maintains that their leader is relaxed about the film - he knows he'll look even shallower by complaining about being the butt of a joke, even a bad joke.
VOICE OF THE DAILY Mirror: Cyber-nit Si
And she was stunned to be the butt of a joke over her fling with England footy boss Sven Goran Eriksson.
A hairy moment for Ulrika
Some Indians fear they're the butt of a joke. India is one of the few countries that cares about the pageants (Jerry Springer hosted Miss World, which was not even televised in the U.S.).
Beauty's Ugly Backlash
Funny and accessible, Cunningham and Rauschenberg chatted on stage like a pair of veteran vaudevillians following Interscape's first performance, chuckling at their own tales or deadpan when they were the butt of a joke.
MERCE CUNNINGHAM DANCE COMPANY
Such questions included: "Which three members of your group are most (and least) likely to initiate jokes about other people?" and "Which members of your group are most (and least) likely to be the butt of a joke at work?"
To make a novice the butt of a joke, however, is considered tasteless--at least until he or she has had a chance to become known and accepted by the group.
No laughing matter: patterns of humor in the workplace