we were going to die trying to keep ourselves from laughing

[diamondcutter]

When she turned around to write on the chalkboard, we could see the tack was just stuck there, hanging in the middle of her backside.
Me and Ryan and Michael thought we were going to die trying to keep ourselves from laughing.

Source: Miss Daisy Is Crazy, Dan Gutman

I’d like to know if the last sentence above means this.

Me and Ryan and Michael thought we were going to die because we were trying to keep ourselves from laughing.

 

[jutfrank]

It means that the effort of trying not to laugh was so great that it felt like it would result in death. (The writer doesn't really mean this literally, of course.)

 

[Skrej]

Ironically, we sometimes speak of dying from laughter. Again it's not meant literally.

 

[emsr2d2]

And we often claim we're going to "die laughing" or we nearly "died laughing".