to split one's sides
1
5.6
- idiom
- /splɪt wʌnz saɪdz/
- Informal
:
partirse de risa
- I'm sure she'll split her sides laughing.
Examples
-
I thought I'd split my sides!
-
I couldn't stop laughing; I thought I would split my sides at the comedian's jokes.
-
If I laugh any harder, I'll split my sides!
-
I'm sure she'll split her sides laughing.
-
We'll all be splitting our sides.
Fiction book (1996) -
The movie was so hilarious that everyone in the theater was splitting their sides with laughter.
-
After hearing the funny story, we all ended up splitting our sides laughing together.
Synonyms
18
3.5
To laugh loudly and without control
9
3.0
Start laughing very hard and cannot stop
8
2.4
To suddenly start laughing loudly and not be able to stop
3
5.1
To make loud, long sounds because something is very funny
1
3.5
To make loud sounds you cannot stop because something is very funny
1
9.7
To laugh very hard at something funny online
Laugh loudly and deeply, making your stomach move
Laugh so hard that your body shakes
To laugh so hard you almost choke
Antonyms
How Funny
- Informal
1
5.6
1
4.0
∞
1.0
153
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
split + one's + side
The components 'split' and 'sides' create a vivid bodily image implying an extreme physical reaction, so there is a clear metaphorical link to intense laughter; however the specific sense 'to laugh very hard' is not directly predictable from the literal meanings alone for a B1 learner. Similar metaphors exist in other languages (e.g. Spanish 'partirse de risa'), which can help, but the idiomatic mapping remains partly unpredictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom split one's sides comes from an old image of laughing so much that your body feels like it will split at the sides. One popular story says people long ago talked about laughter 'splitting' the ribs, so today the phrase means 'laugh very hard'.