[Grammar] laugh youself unconscious - what does it mean?

[Heidi L]

- So you wanna hear a story? Well, I used to know a whole lot of pretty interesting ones, some of them so funny you'd laugh yourself unconscious, others so terrible you'd never want to repeat them. But now I can't remember any of those ...


Is it natural to say "you'd laugh youself unconscious"?
Does it mean "you'd laugh unconsciously"?
In the above context, what other ways in which you might say it?

"Others so terrible you'd never want to repeat them", what do you think the word 'terrible' here mean?
Does it mean other stories are not very good, so you don't want to repeat them? Or they are scary stories, so you don't want to repeat them?

Thank you.

 

[SoothingDave]

It means you would laugh until you passed out. Lost consciousness. Became unconscious.

 

[Heidi L]

It means you would laugh until you passed out. Lost consciousness. Became unconscious.

Thank you, Dave. How about the word 'terrible' next? I just added another question.

 

[SoothingDave]

I would think he means "scary, causing one to feel terror."

 

[Matthew Wai]

In the above context, what other ways in which you might say it?

I found 'die laughing' below. Could it be used instead? Not a teacher.
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/die_1#die_1__274

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hi, Heidi!

You asked:

Is it natural to say "you'd laugh youself unconscious"? No.
Does it mean "you'd laugh unconsciously"? No. It means you laughed until you were unconscious.

"Others are so terrible you'd never want to repeat them." What do you think the word 'terrible' here mean? It means they were stupid or tasteless.

"Laugh yourself unconscious" is not an Americanism. We don't say that. We would say "laugh yourself silly" - meaning laugh until you're delirious, incoherent, dazed, confused, dizzy, stunned.

"Die laughing" would be okay to use there, but we use it more often as a prediction of the future than a report on the past: "The movie is so funny you'll die laughing."

 

[Heidi L]

Hi, Heidi!

You asked:

Is it natural to say "you'd laugh youself unconscious"? No.
Does it mean "you'd laugh unconsciously"? No. It means you laughed until you were unconscious.

"Others are so terrible you'd never want to repeat them." What do you think the word 'terrible' here mean? It means they were stupid or tasteless.

"Laugh yourself unconscious" is not an Americanism. We don't say that. We would say "laugh yourself silly" - meaning laugh until you're delirious, incoherent, dazed, confused, dizzy, stunned.

"Die laughing" would be okay to use there, but we use it more often as a prediction of the future than a report on the past: "The movie is so funny you'll die laughing."

Thanks Charlie.

Those sentences come from https://tw.voicetube.com/videos/14419

Maybe you have time to check if what the man said matches the sentences on the right-hand side?

 

[Heidi L]

"Others are so

terrible you'd never want to repeat them." What do you think the word 'terrible' here mean? It means they were stupid or tasteless.

Very interesting, Charlie. So you think differently than Dave, right?

The man said he knew a lot of pretty interesting stories, some of them are funny, some are terrible. If he think some of them are stupid or tastless, why does he think they are interesting at the same time?

Besides, now he can't remember any of those, but he knows they are funny or terrible. Isn't it a bit strange?

 

[Matthew Wai]

laugh unconsciously

I take it to mean 'laugh unknowingly', which doesn't make sense.
Am I right or wrong? Not a teacher.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Very interesting, Charlie. So you think differently than Dave, right?

The man said he knew a lot of pretty interesting stories, some of them are funny, some are terrible. If he think some of them are stupid or tastless, why does he think they are interesting at the same time?

Besides, now he can't remember any of those, but he knows they are funny or terrible. Isn't it a bit strange?

First of all, now that I've seen the video: I was wrong about terrible. Now I think he means scary, upsetting.

The translation is good. Some fixes:

- In two places it says wired instead of weird.

- It should say Mom and Dad, not Mom and did.

- It should say Not that IT made any difference.

- There were a few capitals missing, but you know how to fix those.

- He uses the expression It was nothing left to do. In the U.S., we'd say THERE was, but IT was is probably a Britishism.

About his comment that he can't remember all the stories, two things:

- This is a whimsical narrative. He should not be taken too literally.

- At the end, we learn that time has passed and he has become for mature (and more ordinary). So here's what I think: the magic of childhood is receding. When he says he can't remember, it's an early hint that he's a grown-up now and his memories have faded.

Thank, Heidi! Loved the video! I'm going to share it with friends.

 

[Roman55]

Maybe you have time to check if what the man said matches the sentences on the right-hand side?

I am not a teacher.

Heidi, I had a look, and when I saw it was 15 minutes long I had second thoughts. However, it is a charming little animated film and I really enjoyed it, so here are the corrections, in bold, of the minor mistakes I found.

1:00 So maybe I'll tell you about the time I found that lost thing.
1:06 Down at the beach.
1:10 collection
1:30 it sure wasn't doing much
1:33 weird
2:46 I played with the thing for most of the afternoon
2:51 It was great fun
4:22 but he said what he always does
5:08 There was nothing left to do but take the thing home with me.
5:17 about how filthy its feet were
5:24 and that Dad would be worried about
5:35 Not that it made any difference
5:41 in our back shed
5:48 wandering the streets
7:00 but I sure couldn't keep it
7:05 Mom or Dad would eventually notice it when they came out looking for
7:26 objects
7:29 of unknown origin
7:38 pigeonhole
8:55 she sighed

From 10:56 to 14:11 the transcription is missing. It should read as follows:
'Eventually, we found what seemed to be the right place, in a dark little gap off some anonymous little street. The kind of place you'd never know existed unless you were actually looking for it.'

14:13 I still think about that lost thing
14:25 something with a weird, sad, lost sort of look


@ Charlie Bernstein. Who said anything about Americanisms? Its Australian.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I take it to mean 'laugh unknowingly', which doesn't make sense.
Am I right or wrong? Not a teacher.

That would probably be written "I unconsciously laughed." The writer meant a figurative exaggeration: I laughed myself into a state of unconsciousness.

 

[lotus888]

When folks are having fun, they'd laugh themselves silly.


--lotus

 

[Heidi L]

Hi guys,

Thank you very much, especially for the corrections, they really help.

I have one more question. Around 4:22 in the vedio,

-Pete didn't know what the thing was exactly, but he said what he always does ...

I was wondering what would be the difference if 'did' were used instead of 'does'?

Is 'he said what he always did' suggesting Pete has passed away?

Is 'he said what he always does' indicating that Pete is now still like saying those things?

 

[Roman55]

Is 'he said what he always did' suggesting Pete has passed away?

Is 'he said what he always does' indicating that Pete is now still like saying those things?

I am not a teacher.

Yes, that's exactly what it suggests.