laugh one's head off
Meaning: To laugh very loudly and for a long time.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The comedian was so good that we laughed our heads off all night.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: Part of a family of "off" exaggerations, like "talk someone's ear off." No first use has been traced.
Equivalents in other languages
- Portuguese: morrer de rir — literally: to die of laughing
- French: Rire comme une baleine — literally: To laugh like a whale
- French: Pisser dans sa culotte — literally: To piss in one's trousers
More idioms — Body & Senses
- in one's birthday suit — Completely naked.
- go under the knife — To have a surgical operation.
- only have eyes for — To be interested in or attracted to one person only.
- shoot oneself in the foot — To damage one's own interests through a foolish action.
- set tongues wagging — To cause people to gossip.
- twiddle one's thumbs — To do nothing while waiting or out of boredom.
More English idioms
- blow a gale — Of the wind: to blow extremely hard.
- sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me — Insults cannot really harm you, so they are best ignored.
- drunk as a skunk — Extremely drunk.
- know someone in the biblical sense — To have had sex with someone.
- throw caution to the wind — To stop being careful and take a risk.
- a last stand — A final, determined effort to resist, usually when defeat is likely.
From our proverbs
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