gallows humor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of gallows humor
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Schrader, who turns 80 in July, spoke about the coming upheaval with a mixture of fascination, resignation and dry gallows humor.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
For local establishments, the newly offered specials are part gallows humor, part business gamble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
Newsrooms being breeding grounds for gallows humor, most also understand that futility is a terrific comedy catalyst.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2025
“I meant it as a bit of gallows humor, but he answered by essentially saying, Actually, sort of,” Gluck, a journalist, writes in his forthcoming memoir, An Exercise in Uncertainty.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
I remember chinning myself on the top of a fence to see one such comedy show filled with gallows humor.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
