Tongue-in-Cheek 是什么？

好几次听到 "tongue-in-cheek" 这个说法，不太明白，请 Cathy写了这个贴。

Wife: “Do these pants make me look fat?”
Husband:  “Not at all!  In fact, they take about 20 – no, I'd say 30 pounds off you. In fact, they make you look like you need to eat more pizza and ice cream. ”
Wife: “Please – no more tongue-in-cheek humor.  Just tell me the truth. ”

When a person is being “tongue-in-cheek,” he is lying in a joking way.  He pretends to be serious but keeps saying things that are more and more difficult to believe. Meanwhile, he pretends to be very serious. He is really laughing at you, and it's hard for him not to smile, so he grimaces, bites his lip, or sticks his tongue in his cheek in order to stop himself from smiling.

Usually, tongue-in-cheek humor is gentle. The person who is tongue-in-cheek does not want to hurt your feelings or offend you.

当一个人开玩笑时，他装着一本正经的样子，越说越让听者难以置信，他本人好不容易忍住不笑，把舌头都顶到脸颊了，所以说 "tongue-in-cheek"。

Tongue-in-cheek 幽默一般不苛刻, 讲 tongue-in-cheek 的话的人不会伤害你的感情，也不会得罪你。