Laugh Until You Cry: Getting Emotional

There are just as many ways to describe happiness or sadness as there are to express these feelings physically. Individual ways of responding, the intensity of the emotion, and what exactly it is we are trying to communicate all come into play. We sometimes cry when we’re happy or moved, for example, or laugh when we’re sad or angry. Writers often make use of this nuance to bring complexity to a particular character in a novel. So how can we navigate the complicated verbal landscape of laughter and tears? Here is some guidance.

Amusement

When we are only slightly amused, we may begin with a smile. A smile can extend into a grin or a smirk. A grin can be simply a broad smile, or there could be some unpleasant intention behind it, as in a wickedgrin or an evil grin. A smirk is often foolish or in some way affected — perhaps the person smirking knows some salacious gossip about someone close by. 

If you read something comical in a book or on your phone while on the train, you might snigger. A snigger is not a loud laugh, but it is the kind that you can’t always control or suppress. If your boss or mother-in-law does something comical and embarrassing, you’ll probably find yourself sniggering involuntarily. If you read something really funny in a public place and the laughter comes out explosively, then you might snort with laughter (snorting is the sound a horse or a pig makes.)

Giggling

More sustained though still reasonably quiet laughter can be described as a chortle, a chuckle or a giggle. The last of these is probably the most common, and is often associated with children or young people. When children start laughing together at something silly and can’t seem to stop, we say they ‘get the giggles’. Giggling is usually inoffensive, but it is certainly the first step towards uncontrollable laughter.

A guffaw could possibly be offensive. It is when someone throws their head back, opens their mouth wide and almost shouts with laughter. Imagine an irritating person at a party who laughs so loud he or she interrupts all the other conversations: that’s guffawing.

Hysterical Laughter

If your favourite stand-up comedian makes you laugh a lot, so that afterwards your muscles ache and you have laughter lines on your face, then you can say that you howled with laughter roared with laughter , split your sides, nearly wet yourself or cracked up laughing. This style of laughter can be so strenuous that it can make your eyes water, which is where the expression ‘laugh until you cry’ comes from. As American writer Kurt Vonnegut said: “Laughing is good exercise. It’s like jogging on the inside.” If the laughter becomes uncontrollable, then you may be laughing hysterically, suggesting some kind of hysteria or madness has overtaken you. People sometimes say they were laughing hysterically when they simply mean they were laughing a lot.

Sniffling

If you are feeling miserable or hear some sad news, you may get a lump in your throat. This refers to that constricted feeling you get in your throat when you feel like crying but can’t, or are trying not to. As the situation continues, you may begin to ge tearful: your eyes will be wet and shiny, but there won’t be any actual tears yet.  As your lacrimal glands continue to work, you will begin to sniff through your nose, and when this becomes constant, perhaps with the odd tear, then you can say that you are sniffling. This is the very first stage of actual crying and is still almost silent. A little more, with the occasional vocal lament, and your sniffling will become grizzling. Grizzling is the kind of fretful crying we associate with young children who perhaps have no real reason to cry except that they are tired or can’t have something they want. To whimper is very similar but can also be associated with pain. 

Wailing

After this comes more sustained crying or weeping If it starts suddenly, you can say someone burst into tears. If the outburst continues, we can say they are in floods of tears, are crying their eyes out, or are crying their heart out. This kind of intense crying will certainly be accompanied by sobbing and possibly bawling, wailing or even howling, which are all strong vocal expressions of sadness or grief. Grief is the deepest sadness, usually associated with the death of a loved one which leaves us heartbroken. After such a tragedy, people are said to grieve. If this type of loud, emotional crying goes on for too long, it may become hysterical, and we may even find ourselves laughing again!