to laugh out of court
1
9.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
desestimar
- The judge quickly laughed out of court the frivolous lawsuit, deeming it absurd and unworthy of consideration.
- get laughed out of court
Examples
-
Oh, and if that burglar who took your TV turned out to be a bailiff who had the right paperwork and legal title to take it, you can wail about how obviously stolen it was as much as you like; you'll get laughed out of court every time.
Blog text (4) -
It should be laughed out of court.
-
"Even if we get laughed out of court?" I said.
Fiction book (1997) -
Let him try, he'll be laughed out of court.
Blog text (22) -
No, we'd get laughed out of court.
-
You'd be laughed out of court with that one.
Blog text (16) -
His "retroactive retirement" would get laughed out of court.
Blog text (20) -
Obviously imposed plots that would be laughed out of court by most Hutterites include episodes such as a "jerky contest," girls riding off while the colony boss can't stop them, or a waitress taking a scripted pratfall, etc., etc.
Blog text (27) -
Had these so-called infringements actually come to trial, one hopes that the AAP's greed would have been laughed out of court—but who, alas, would bet on it these days?
Academic text (1997) -
After presenting their outrageous evidence, the lawyer was laughed out of court by the judge and jury.
Synonyms
20
4.2
To make a joke about something embarrassing to show it is not important
5
9.5
To treat an idea or opinion as unimportant and not worth taking seriously
3
4.2
Treat a problem or criticism as not important by joking about it
Antonyms
How Serious
608
3.1
- Informal
1
9.0
332
3.0
- Informal
3
4.2
- Informal
22
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'laugh' (ridicule) and 'court' (formal/legal setting) give a learner some clue that the phrase involves ridicule in a formal context, and 'out of' signals exclusion. However, the full sense 'to dismiss as absurd or unworthy of consideration' is a metaphorical, idiomatic extension that is not fully predictable from the parts and would likely require prior exposure.
Etymology
Laugh out of court comes from the image of someone in a real court whose idea is so ridiculous that the judge and crowd laugh and send them away. So it means 'to dismiss as ridiculous' and not take something seriously.