Idiom
laughing stock
Meaning
An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; the butt of a joke.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“If you wear that silly costume, you will be a laughing stock.”
“He avoids the stage because he hates being the laughing stock.”
“She feels like a laughing stock when her phone rings during quiet movies.”
“After his failed presentation, he became the laughing stock of the entire office for weeks.”
“The team worried that losing to such a weak opponent would make them the laughing stock of the local league.”
“When the expensive new bridge collapsed after one week, the construction company became a global laughing stock.”
“The chef was afraid that serving raw chicken would turn his restaurant into a laughing stock among food critics.”
“The politician feared that his public blunder would make him the laughing stock of the nation, effectively ending his career.”
Examples
simple
“If you wear that silly costume, you will be a laughing stock.”
“He avoids the stage because he hates being the laughing stock.”
“She feels like a laughing stock when her phone rings during quiet movies.”
contextual
“After his failed presentation, he became the laughing stock of the entire office for weeks.”
“The team worried that losing to such a weak opponent would make them the laughing stock of the local league.”
“When the expensive new bridge collapsed after one week, the construction company became a global laughing stock.”
“The chef was afraid that serving raw chicken would turn his restaurant into a laughing stock among food critics.”
complex
“The politician feared that his public blunder would make him the laughing stock of the nation, effectively ending his career.”
Origin
From *laughing* + *stock*, in the sense of a source, supply, or target. The construction is a cognate of the similarly formed *whipping-stock* and *jesting-stock*, positioning the object of ridicule as the primary material from which the amusement is drawn.
Key words
Related idioms
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