[Ads-l] to ugly-laugh

[Barretts Mail]

On “Britain’s Got Talent” (Semi Final 5, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIVxPRqgtD4 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIVxPRqgtD4>, about 8:40), Alesha Dixon praises a comedian contestant (Daliso Chaponda), saying that he made her and Amanda Holden “ugly-laugh.” 

As per Arnold Zwicky (https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/07/29/whats-wrong-with-this-verb/ <https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/07/29/whats-wrong-with-this-verb/>), it seems that this is not merely “laughing uglily” but is referring to is a particular phenomenon where something is so funny that you lose your ability to maintain your attractive laugh and the true, ugly laugh-face comes out.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org