What does the British idiom "taking the piss" mean?

I most recently heard this in the context of a business deal:

Sorry gents, looks like we'll be taking the piss on that one.

I understood that the business had suffered a financial loss, although I expected I was missing some nuance.

In entirely different scenarios, I've heard piss used in British idiomatic phrasing that suggested a lack of concern, or carelessness. Those phrases are difficult to reconcile with the previously mentioned usage. Are there multiple idiomatic meanings for this word, or am I missing some kind of unifying theme?

Updated: I might not have a perfect recollection of the quote. But given the typical meaning of the phrase, I wonder if the speaker's intention was along the lines of "We'll be laughing about this later." Or maybe I just missed the real meaning.

Solution 1:

"Taking the piss" simply means "making fun of" in its usual context. It's a very common expression within Britain, but probably rare elsewhere. ("Taking the mickey" is a similar, slightly sanitised version, that perhaps is used elsewhere?)

The Wikipedia page gives a fairly good overview.

Solution 2:

That particular usage of "taking the piss", actually means "taking advantage of".

When said from the receiver's perspective it would be akin to "You have got to be joking!", "Are you taking the mick[ey]?", "Are you taking the piss?" - All enquiries as to whether they are being made fun out of, the more usual meaning, but with the implication that is not the case, and they are being taken advantage of.

In this context, said from the side of the entity taking advantage, it says "we will be taking the piss", we will be taking advantage of the other entity.

Particularly used where terms and conditions are particularly harsh, or the client is being screwed for far too much money.

Solution 3:

Re the second part of your question: yes, there are many many many idiomatic uses of piss in British English! Just off the top of my head:

• piss - urine, to urinate. (The main literal meaning, of course.)
• take the piss out of (someone/something) - to make fun of.
• pissed - drunk, roughly equivalent to hammered in AmE.
• on the piss - out drinking, similar to on the town, on the tiles.
• piss (someone) off - to offend, irritate, anger someone. (Hence: pissed off = angry, closely equivalent to AmE pissed.)
• Piss off! - Go away! (Milder analogue of Fuck off!)
• piss about (or around) - to mess around, do things that aren't really worthwhile.

More suggestions welcome in comments...

Solution 4:

My understanding of this phrase breaks down to:

• "Are you taking the piss [out of me]?"
• "I'm just taking the piss [out of you]."

"Piss" in this interpretation could mean something like confidence (similar to the phrase "piss and vinegar"). In other words:

• "Are you trying to make a fool of me?"
• "Are you trying to cut me down a notch?"
• Or in more modern parlance, "are you trolling?"

The dialogue you describe doesn't really make sense for that use of the phrase. "We'll be taking the piss" reads more as "we'll have the last laugh" to me.