Idioms and Sayings about Laughter - English Vocabulary

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English

with Jennifer.

They say that laughter is the best

medicine.

Do you agree? Well, you can't laugh at

everything in this world,

but I do think it's easier to get

through life

if you have a sense of humor. I also

think that knowing some idioms about

laughter

will make communication easier for you,

so that's what we're going to focus on

in this

lesson.

[Laughter]

Idioms are a colorful way of speaking.

You can't take the words

literally. For example, if someone laughs

their head

off, it doesn't mean that their head

falls off.

That would be like a scene from a horror

movie. To laugh your head off

simply means to laugh a lot, to laugh

loudly,

and laugh uncontrollably.

Some comedies are so funny you spend the

whole movie

laughing your head off. Can you recommend

any movies like that?

Note there is a slightly vulgar version

of this idiom:

laugh your --- off, but you can't use that in

polite company.

Okay?

Have you ever faced doubt from other

people?

If someone didn't believe in a plan you

had

and then you actually succeeded and even

profited from

it, then you might be laughing all the

way to the bank.

I read about a guy who invested money in

lottery tickets.

Many would say that's a waste of money . 48 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,200 But he used

math to calculate lucky numbers, and he

won millions of dollars!

He was laughing all the way to the bank,

and I bet all the skeptics

wished they had him for a friend.

Another way we can express that success

came despite other people's doubts

is by asking the question, "Who's laughing

now?"

Think of all the gamers and artists

who've made a good living

on YouTube or another social media

platform.

Others might have questioned or even

laughed at their career choices,

but who's laughing now? Some top creators

make

thousands of dollars a day.

Sometimes we're the ones with the doubt.

If you don't think that something is

true or possible, you can say,

"Don't make me laugh." This means you

believe the idea is ridiculous.

For example, someone suggests that your

friend might end up

marrying her older neighbor. You don't

think this is true.

Your response: "Don't make me laugh. First,

of all, the guy is 20 years

older than her. Second, she only talks

about him to complain.

She hates the guy."

Okay. Wuick review before we go on. Number

one.

If you're able to laugh at all things,

including yourself,

you have a sense of

humor. Wou can have a sense of humor.

You can lose your sense of humor. You can

develop a sense of humor.

Two. Many believe that laughing is

healthy.

That's why they say that laughter is the

best

medicine.

Three. If you find something hysterical

and you laugh

uncontrollably, you could laugh until you

cry,

which is what I sometimes do, or you

might

laugh...

you might laugh your head off.

Four. If you profit from an action or a

plan that others had doubts about,

you can say that you're laughing all the

way to

the bank. Of number five. You can ask the

question,

"Who's

who's laughing now?"

Six.If something sounds absurd, it's

unlikely or completely ridiculous,

you might comment, "Don't make...

don't make me laugh."

All right. As I mentioned, I can actually

cry if I laugh too hard.

Do you ever laugh until you cry? It's

like

laughing until it hurts.

This happens when the situation is

extremely funny

and we laugh out of control.

But there are situations when laughter

is not appropriate.

Sometimes our initial reaction to a

situation

is to laugh, but then someone explains

why the situation

is actually serious.

At the office, Owen got stuck in the

elevator with his ex-girlfriend.

He didn't want to spend any time with

her, so he tried to open the

doors with his bare hands. It's no

laughing matter.

He ended up hurting his wrist and

breaking a finger.

The expression here is, "It's no laughing

matter."

In surprising situations, we may not know

how to react.

If the dog steals your phone and buries

it somewhere in the front yard,

you may not know whether to laugh or cry.

Here's a true story. One time I showed up

at the wrong dinner party.

Really. Not only did I show up uninvited

at the wrong restaurant, I was missing at

the party where I was invited!

Honestly, I didn't know whether to laugh

or cry.

Thankfully, no one at either party took

offense.

It's nice when things work out despite

difficulties. Right?

You already know the idiom "be laughing

all the way to the bank."

That's mainly for financial success. In

general, if you achieve success

despite other people's jokes and

laughter, you can say that you had the

last laugh.

Did you know that the first movie with

talking in it wasn't expected to be a

success?

But the movie studio had the last laugh

because soon after

all the movies had talking in it and

audiences

said goodbye to silent movies.

Speaking of movies, did you know that

Steven Spielberg

applied to film school and got rejected

twice? Well, he had the last laugh because

he ended up becoming a famous

director, producer, and screenwriter. And

he's won countless awards.

How about another quiz. Let's see how

much you remember.

Number one. Sometimes you laugh really

hard.

You can laugh until you

cry or until it

hurts.

Two. If the situation is rather serious

and there's no humor to be found,

then we say, "It's no...

it's no laughing matter."

Three. If you're extremely surprised and

you're feeling a range of emotions,

you may not know whether to

laugh or cry.

Four. People initially laughed at the idea

of a horseless carriage,

but those who made the first automobiles

had

they had the last laugh because today

everyone around the world drives around

in cars.

Few people ride around on horses.

Let's end with some lines from a poem by

Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

She was an american poet, and the poem is

called

"Solitude." Listen. And if you wish, you can

tell me what you think the poet meant

in the comments. Laugh,

and the world laughs with you; /Weep,

and you weep alone;/ For the sad old earth

must borrow its mirth,/ But has trouble

enough of its own./

Sing, and the hills will answer;/

Sigh, it is lost on the air;/

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,/

But shrink from voicing care./

That's all for now. Please like the video

if you found it useful and

interesting. As always, thanks for

watching

and happy studies!

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and

Instagram. And try something new!

Download the app Hallo and join me for a

live stream.

Students can hop on camera and get

speaking practice in real time.