Example 1
Yesterday, I had a conversation with my roommate regarding the possibility of getting a workbench.
She remarked:
If this is anything like the whiteboard, you'll just take it over completely.
I responded in a slightly defensive manner to which she retorted that she was "just joking". I acknowledge that there is truth in what she said because I have used the whiteboard a lot and I think she took the chance to convey this to me in the form of "a joke".
Example 2
Imagine a conversation amongst two friends: Waldo and Enrique.
Enrique: Waldo, do you know why you can't find a girlfriend?
Waldo: Not this again.
Enrique: My friend, it's because you smell as bad as you look.
Waldo: I don't smell!
Enrique: Of course, I'm just joking my friend. Let's get a drink.
Example 3
Imagine a child who wants to admit their feelings to a parent, but out of embarrassment they add the just kidding
clause.
Example 4
Imagine a man (Carter) working at an office and he is having a conversation with the CEO of the company (Candice).
Carter: How did the presentation with the customers go?
Candice: It went alright, but there are still a lot of concerns to deal with.
Carter: That's too bad. * puts pen down on desk, stands up and exclaims * I have an IDEA!
Candice: Let's hear it!
Carter: You should promote me and then we can lead this company to world domination!
Candice: Oh lord. Sit down Carter, I should have guessed.
In this example Carter made a joke, but did not add the just-kidding
clause. However, the important point here is that the joke has the underlying meaning--he wants a raise.
Background
This phenomenon is the reason behind the phrase: There's a grain of truth in every joke
Many articles talk about this, but I haven't come across a word for this. Pyschology Today has a good article about this, but doesn't have a name for this.
Sarcasm is probably most often referenced for this because most examples involve hurtful/negative sentiment; however, these pseudo-jokes are not limited to contexts with negative sentiment. In a deeper sense they are related to underlying desires that people want to subtly convey (see example 3 & 4).
I would like to add that I believe Sarcasm is more common in this respect because it is easier to pull off a joke in negative context rather than what is in example 4 (at least in Western culture).
I'm looking for a colloquial word or phrase that describes this type of joke.
just kidding
clause.