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gallows humour

British  

noun

  1. sinister and ironic humour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Their side had not long come from behind to go 2-1 up against Newcastle United when gallows humour swept across the London Stadium.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2025

"Sri Lankans specialise in gallows humour... laughter is clearly our coping mechanism," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2022

But as PC Carson, Freeman strikes the required balance between toughness and vulnerability, despair and gallows humour, right and wrong.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2022

"In Britain it ties in with the tradition of panto, that kind of gallows humour," he says.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2021

Sam is my jaded Scottish side; even though he’s English he has a very Glaswegian, gallows humour.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 27, 2020

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