1
general::
Phrase(s): die laughing
1. Lit. to meet one’s death laughing—in good spirits, revenge, or irony. • Sally is such an optimist that she’ll probably die laughing. • Bob tried to poison his rich aunt, who then died laughing because she had taken Bob out of her will. 2. Fig. to laugh very long and hard. • The joke was so funny that I almost died laughing. • The play was meant to be funny, but the audience didn’t exactly die laughing.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Experience extreme amusement, as in When his pants fell down, I thought I'd die laughing. This hyperbolic expression was used by Shakespeare in The Taming of the Shrew (3:2): "Went they not quickly, I should die with laughing." Also see SPLIT ONE'S SIDES.
American Heritage Idioms