cruellien.
/ˈkruːəli/ colloquial.
A cruel joke, remark, comment, etc. Also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > cruelty > [noun] > act or instance of > joke, remark, etc.
cruellie1959
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > other types of jest or joke
dry biscuit jest1600
kniff-knaff1683
private joke1789
jokelet1847
inside joke1849
wheeze1864
one-liner1904
lavatory joke1931
lavatory humour1935
sight gag1957
cruellie1959
in-joke1964
elephant joke1966
1959 News Chron. 6 July 3/4 The famous American ‘cruellie’ joke—example: ‘But what did you think of the play, Mrs. Lincoln?’—is on the way out.
1959 Guardian 3 Nov. 7/3 ‘Some of [the greeting cards] are cruellies... They might say on the outside “Stay the way you are”, and..on the inside..“Mean, Cruel, Thoughtless”...’ How about a real cruelly, then, with the gum flavoured with cyanide?
1961 ‘J. Ross’ Last August xiv. 168 Con fancies himself as a psychiatrist... He has the best collection of sick jokes and cruellies.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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n.1959