no laughing matter


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no laughing matter

A very serious topic or situation; something that should not be treated lightly or as funny in any way. Boys, this is no laughing matter. One of you could have been seriously hurt. Termites are no laughing matter. They've been known to destroy entire homes.
See also: laugh, matter, no
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

no laughing matter

a serious issue or problem. Be serious. This is no laughing matter. This disease is no laughing matter. It's quite deadly if not treated immediately.
See also: laugh, matter, no
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

laughing matter

see under no joke.
See also: laugh, matter
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

no laughing matter

If you say that something is no laughing matter, you mean that it is very serious and not something that you should laugh or joke about. Their behaviour is an offence. It's no laughing matter.
See also: laugh, matter, no
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

no laughing matter

something serious that should not be joked about.
See also: laugh, matter, no
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

no laughing ˈmatter

something which is too serious to joke about: Trying to find a place to live at the moment is no laughing matter.
See also: laugh, matter, no
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

no laughing matter

A serious issue. This term, which is always put in this negative way—one never hears of something that is a laughing matter—dates from the sixteenth century. Playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan is quoted as having said (1793), “A joke in your mouth is no laughing matter.”
See also: laugh, matter, no
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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