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

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

laughing matter

see under no joke.
See also: laugh, matter

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

no laughing matter

something serious that should not be joked about.
See also: laugh, matter, no

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
References in periodicals archive ?
Vhong's 'controversial' life is no laughing matter.
What people don't know about Vhong Navarro
Don't be fooled: Playing the Joker is no laughing matter.
Debut: hijinks and jokers
Or maybe they were convinced that religion is no laughing matter.
Eat, drink, and be merry: Jesus was no stranger to good times, and neither should we be. So tell your fellow parishioners to turn that frown upside down and sing, dance, and raise a glass--a toast to the good news!
I can assure Wendy Austin that living in the face of a violent campaign being waged by unionist paramilitaries is no laughing matter.
ELECTION DATE DEBATE BOILS OVER: GUN ATTACK IS NO JOKE
NO LAUGHING MATTER Police in Ohio are hunting the owner of a 10ft Burmese python that swallowed a neighbour's dog.
WEIRD IN THE USA; It's just another world over the pond
Unfortunately, while fire safety is no laughing matter, the length, breadth and disorganization of the material is garnering snickers from the real estate industry.
The Fire Department
On-the-job exposure to high levels of laughing gas is no laughing matter.
The reproductive hazards of nitrous oxide
O) is no laughing matter in the atmosphere, where it serves as a "greenhouse" gas and leads to the destruction of stratospheric ozone.
Bottled error distorts N2O estimates
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