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The art of taking the piss

sarcasm ˈsɑːkaz(ə)m/ Noun Plural noun: sarcasms 1. the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. "she didn't like the note of sarcasm in his voice" synonyms: derision, mockery, ridicule, satire, irony, scorn, sneering, scoffing, gibing, taunting; trenchancy, mordancy, acerbity; rare causticity, mordacity "his voice was heavy with sarcasm.
 
I was listening to a comedian the other day and it seems other cultures and people have a problem of understanding British sarcasm. Although it could be a problem initially after a while you will understand the rules and begin to realize you can be sarcastic as the average Tom, Dick or Harry.
There are certain rules, there are certain professions that due to their serious nature they cannot be sarcastic. An extreme will be a medical doctor, funeral director, primary school teacher, police officer, solider, nurse, etc. However, there are professions that they are contractually obliged to be sarcastic e.g. a comedian, toaster at a wedding, etc. Then they are certain conditions you must never be sarcastic every part of being a medical doctor, some one giving professional advice, in certain professional settings, when arresting a criminal except on the TV, giving bad news e.g. death, or disease, at airports especially when asked the usual questions - if you are the sarcastic type you will feel the urge to answer otherwise. 

I beg you don’t, as people have been arrested for that and it is a serious environment. The questions at the airport are usually standard and simple which are as follows

1. Are these your bag(s)?
2.Did you pack them yourself?
3. Have they been out of your sight for any time?
4. Do they contain any prohibited or dangerous articles?
5. Did anyone give you anything to take on the flight? 

Some people can go through these questions without smiling or even moving .... but remember you are in a serious environment and their are serious reasons why they have to ask these questions.
Also another time to be very serious is when reading or telling others some Health and Safety rules, although these can be in league of stupidity like the banning of children playing with conkers in the playground because they might be injure their fingers. Or banning sack races in case children might fall and twist their ankles.


The British has perfected the art of sarcasm that it could be subtle and indirect that you may not even take it has being sarcasm. And it will be days or in some cases weeks for you to notice that you were stringed all along. As said above, sarcasm is frowned up in a professional setting, but it is sometimes allowed in an interview setting. They may ask you a question that they know you will never get or one that “there is no correct answer to”. Just to see how you deal with pressure, first they will look at you when you are dealing with the question and what you do, if at all realize the futility of all your hard work and when you decided to tell them that you have got it wrong in the first place. Sometimes it like looking at those crabs in a bucket nearly reaching the top and pulling themselves back, never coming out. As they are digging a hole, the interviewer may even throw the interviewee a spade to dig deeper in the hole that they have created instead of gently guiding them out. It is interesting to watch and you can see the self-confidence of the interviewee gradually slip away. I have never done that but it is tempting.

Meanwhile, other countries are not as good as it. In the United States for example it is said that the Americans do not understand sarcasm at all. And it goes from various levels British making jokes about 9-11 or making fun of Israel is a problem. If you are going to work in the UK, it is better you get use to it, within content. Be prepared to be made fun of, although some people will try to push it to far and will stay making monkey sounds or acting like a gorilla. I have been lucky as my size seems to intimidate some people, i.e. those who are likely to make such jokes, also been trained as a medical doctor and working as a IT programmer seems to stop them in their tracks. But it is better not to laugh at what you don’t understand especial homophobic or sexists behavior or give a consent to a ‘nod and a wink’. There are stories in Nigeria of children being told to bring ‘keep him/her busy’ from a relative in the village, and when reaching the house of the person, he will begin look for it and after not finding it, would suddenly remember that another person had just come to collect it from the other side of the village miles away, after going on this fools errand ..... and people sending you back and forth ... it will suddenly dawn on you that ‘keep him/her busy’ is just an invention of the adults to keep you away from the house. 

So when being sarcastic or even when is taking the piss, there is an art to it. There are some people who are known for sarcasm like my work colleague, ‘sarcastic Sarah’. She can poke fun at you and you have to be on your guard around her all the time. Although when she is being serious the tone of her voice changes and she looks at you will her “serious eyes”, as of when she is being sarcastic and it is often in a more relax setting. I have tried been sarcastic myself but I am not as the professionals .... hence I better keep with my day job and leave sarcasm to the professionals.

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