I'm not being funny

phrase

Used as a softening preface to a statement that might be taken as offensive or malicious.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

phrase
  1. UKidiomaticUsed as a softening preface to a statement that might be taken as offensive or malicious.

    I'm not being funny, but you make me nervous.

    2011, Martin Stanley, The Gamblers, page 280
    2 more examples

    Clara: Well, I'm not being funny, but those clothes aren't really suitable for having meetings with clients. John: Really? Clara: I think so – a shirt and tie, or suit and shirt would be better.

    2009, Gavin Dudeney, Nicky Hockly, Learning English as a Foreign Language For Dummies, page 296

    You know, I'm not being funny, but, you know, when he's with all his cool new 'creative' mates. They ain't real, Tony. They ain't like us. They sit around, with ironic trousers on and three haircuts each, waiting to be discovered.

    2013, Kate Tempest, Wasted, page 13

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
no tea, no shade
Cite this entry
APA

I'm not being funny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/I'm%20not%20being%20funny

MLA

“I'm not being funny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/I'm%20not%20being%20funny. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “I'm not being funny,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/I'm%20not%20being%20funny.

Source: I'm not being funny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.