"Taking the mickey" is done to someone's face as Tamara said, and sometimes
the "victim" isn't sure whether or not what's being said to them is a
compliment or "taking the mickey". The most recent example I can think would
be someone saying to Evanda Holyfield that he danced a very good jive in
"Dancing with the Stars" in the US and "Strictly Come Dancing" in the UK.
Not something I'd take a chance on doing if he realised that you were taking
the mickey!
Taking the mickey can have quite serious consequences if the victim thinks
they're being paid a compliment rather than having fun poked at them and
acts on the compliment.
It's not usually intended to be malicious, and the victim usually joins in
the joke - we should all be able to see the funny side of things we do.
Found this on the web:
<<: Who or what was Mickey, and why do we take him?
: [Obviously there are also cruder versions of this phrase.]
Here's what it says in "The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang" by Tony Thorne
(Pantheon Books):
"take the mick/mickey/michael -- vb. British -- to mock, deride, poke fun
at. These expressions are milder versions of 'take the piss.' Unbeknownst to
most users, they employ rhyming slang: Mickey is short for a mythical
'Mickey Bliss,' providing the rhyme for 'piss.' 'Michael' is a humorous
variant. The phrases, like their more vulgar counterpart, have been in use
since the 1940s."
"take the piss (out of someone) vb. British -- to mock, deride, poke fun
(at). This vulgarism has been in widespread use since the late 1940s. The
original idea evoked by the expression was that of deflating someone,
recalling the description of a self-important blusterer as 'all piss and
wind.'" >>
Jean in Poole, Dorset UK
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