Dictionary

laughing stock en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From laughing + stock (“source, supply; butt, target”). Compare also whipping-stock, jesting-stock.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) An object of ridicule, someone who is publicly ridiculed; the butt of a joke.
   • When he talked, he talked nonsense, and made himself the laughing-stock of his hearers. 1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:
   • The split was supposedly triggered by racism — specifically anti-Jewish racism. But on this front, the Independent Group have already become a laughingstock. 2019 February 19, Annie Cohen, 'Yes, There’s Anti-Semitism In Labour. No, Those Politicians Didn’t Quit Over It.', The Forward (retrieved 21 February 2019)
   • Toronto Transit Corporation had real issues. [...] My boss was removed in a coup three months after my arrival. I stood in and my learning curve went through the roof. Over five years, we went from being a laughing stock to winning awards. 2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 54:
   • Pray you let us not be laughing-stocks to other men's humours. c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
   • If anyone can restore dignity to a franchise that has been close to a laughing stock in the last few years, it's Gibbs. 2004 September 12, Judy Battista, “Pro Football: NFL Matchups, Week 1”, in New York Times, retrieved 19 Apr 2009:

Forms

Hypernyms

person

Synonyms

white elephant · jesting-stock · idiot · dead horse · make-sport · butt · laughingstock · asshole · joke · fiddle · gapingstock · lolcow · jerk · dumbass · dummy · standing joke · fool · makegame · laughing stock · misfit · scoffing-stock · clown · ass · figure of fun

Translations (59)

it oggetto di scherno (object of ridicule) · pt alvo de chacota (object of ridicule) · nl lachertje (object of ridicule) · be пасме́шышча (object of ridicule) · ga staic mhagaidh (object of ridicule) · fr risée (object of ridicule) · fa خنده خریش (object of ridicule) · el αναγέλασμα (object of ridicule) · ca riota (object of ridicule) · pl pośmiewisko (object of ridicule) · ja 笑い種 (object of ridicule) · cy cyff gwawd (object of ridicule) · el σούργελο (object of ridicule) · et naerualune (object of ridicule) · ru посме́шище (object of ridicule) · fr objet de moquerie (object of ridicule) · de Witzfigur (object of ridicule) · ko 웃음거리 (object of ridicule) · fa خریخه (object of ridicule) · nl risee (object of ridicule) · el ρεζίλι (object of ridicule) · ar مَسْخَرَة (object of ridicule) · ar مَضْحَكَة (object of ridicule) · cs terč posměchu (object of ridicule) · id bahan tertawaan (object of ridicule) · ga staicín áiféise (object of ridicule) · ja 笑い者 (object of ridicule) · mk предмет на потсмев (object of ridicule) · ga paor (object of ridicule) · es hazmerreír (object of ridicule) · ar أُضْحُوكَة (object of ridicule) · ga airí an mhagaidh (object of ridicule) · uk посміхо́вище (object of ridicule) · uk сміхо́вище (object of ridicule) · mi whakakatanga (object of ridicule) · de Lachnummer (object of ridicule) · bg посме́шище (object of ridicule) · mi omeke (object of ridicule) · ga ceap magaidh (object of ridicule) · la lūdībrium (object of ridicule) · uk посміхо́висько (object of ridicule) · el περίγελος (object of ridicule) · pt ludíbrio (object of ridicule) · tr maskara (object of ridicule) · fi naurunaihe (object of ridicule) · it zimbello (object of ridicule) · pt objeto de escárnio (object of ridicule) · fa مضحکه (object of ridicule) · la irrīdiculum (object of ridicule) · cmn 笑料 (object of ridicule) · ga beithé (object of ridicule) · de Gespött (object of ridicule) · ca rialla (object of ridicule) · ja 笑柄 (object of ridicule) · nrf riselée (object of ridicule) · uk сміхо́висько (object of ridicule) · fa مچل (object of ridicule) · sv driftkucku (object of ridicule) · cmn 笑柄 (object of ridicule)