LAUGHTER / RISA

 

François Rabelais wrote that "le rire est le propre de l'homme." By "homme" he meant mankind because animals do not have a sense of humor. My question is: who has the best sense of humor and laughs the most? The French? The British? Spaniards? No idea, but I do know that there are many ways to express laughter in Spanish and English:

Desternillarse (troncharse, partirse, morirse, mondarse, revolcarse) de risa Laugh one’s head off (kill oneself laughing, laugh oneself silly, die laughing, laugh like a drain, split one’s sides laughing, crack up)

¡Se troncharon de risa! They split their sides with laughter!

— “… encontrará temas que nos harán desternillarnos de risa.” La Vanguardia, 30/10/1995. Esp. || “… se partían de risa con las bromas y el humor de la película.” Tiempo, 17/09/1990. Esp.