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to hit my funny bone

to hit my funny bone

8.3
To make someone laugh a lot
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hacer reír
  • That joke really hit my funny bone!

Examples

  • That comedian's joke hit my funny bone and I couldn't stop laughing.

  • The movie hit my funny bone with its witty dialogue and quirky characters.

  • Her clever puns always hit my funny bone during meetings.

  • Can you tell me a story that hits my funny bone?

  • The comedian's performance really hit my funny bone and left the audience in stitches.

  • Her silly antics always hit my funny bone whenever I'm feeling down.

  • That funny video hit my funny bone, making me laugh uncontrollably.

Synonyms

to make someone laugh
vsto hit my funny bone
252 1.0

Cause someone to feel amused by saying or doing something funny

emphasizes greater amusement rather than general laughter
to tickle
vsto hit my funny bone
94 1.0

To touch someone lightly so they feel a tingle or laugh

is about causing strong amusement rather than a physical touch
to tickle someone's funny bone
vsto hit my funny bone
  • Informal
6.9

To make someone laugh or feel amused

is stronger, meaning amuse someone greatly
to leave someone in stitches
vsto hit my funny bone
  • Informal
6.0

Make someone laugh a lot so they cannot stop

is strong amusement but not necessarily uncontrollable laughter
to make a cat laugh
vsto hit my funny bone
  • Archaic
7.8

To be very funny in a silly way that makes people laugh

is general great amusement without exaggerated absurdity
to tickle someone's pickle
vsto hit my funny bone
  • Slang
9.9

Make someone feel very happy and amused

focuses on strong amusement but is less informal or slangy

Antonyms

15 1.4

To make someone feel tired or not interested by being dull when you speak

How Amusing

to hit my funny bone
  • Informal
8.3
to amuse
153 1.4

Surface Forms

hit my funny bone infinitive
hit my funny bone past participle
hitting my funny bone present participle
hits my funny bone third person singular

Morphology

hit + mine + funny + bone

The element 'funny' clearly signals humor and 'hit' can be read metaphorically as affecting someone, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a meaning like 'cause someone to laugh.' However, 'funny bone' is a conventionalized collocation with a competing literal meaning (the elbow/ulnar nerve) and the exact phrasing ('hit my funny bone') is idiomatic, so the precise sense is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Hit my funny bone comes from the real feeling when you knock the inside of your elbow and hit a nerve called the funny bone, which gives a sudden, ticklish shock. That odd shock can make people laugh, so the phrase now means 'to make someone laugh'.