tongue-in-cheek

/ˈtʌŋ·ɪnˈtʃik/ n, adj

Definition

› intended to be understood as a joke, although often seeming serious: He made some tongue-in-cheek comment about being very busy cleaning his house.

(Definition of tongue-in-cheek nadj from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

to not be trusted or popular because people think you have done something bad

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