Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
step on the laughs en · VERB
Meanings
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To tell jokes too rapidly when performing comedy, failing to milk the maximum laughter from the audience.
"Now remember, Candy," my father warned me sternly, "wait till it's quiet to say your lines. Don't step on the laughs."
2011, Candice Bergen, Knock Wood, page 41:Don't “step on the laughs” just because you are long on content and short on time.
2012, Diane Windingland, Cat Got Your Tongue?, page 42:"The timing is very different — at first I was speaking too quickly, stepping on the laughs," said Mr. Jillette. "So I'd wait, and I thought, my God, I'm turning into Shecky Greene here, standing and waiting for the laughs."
1987, New York Theatre Critics' Reviews, volume 48, page 121:
Forms