horselaugh

American  

[hawrs-laf, -lahf] / ˈhɔrsˌlæf, -ˌlɑf /

noun

1. a loud, coarse laugh, especially of derision.

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verb (used without object)

1. to utter a horselaugh.

Other Word Forms

• horselaughter noun

Etymology

Origin of horselaugh

First recorded in 1705–15; horse + laugh

Example Sentences

That drew a horselaugh from veteran investor Jim Chanos, whose experience as a short-seller has given him a uniquely percipient feel for Wall Street foibles.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2023

For Hastings’ heirs to try to whitewash it as though he’s a victim of cancel culture through this ridiculous lawsuit is worth a horselaugh.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2022

The Chicago Tribune Press Service gave it a loud horselaugh with a string of home-brewed dispatches purporting to come from Joliet, Santa Fe, Leavenworth and other prisons.

From Time Magazine Archive

A common product of hasty hiring, the "deadwood" scholar is a total loss and a horselaugh on the great game of faculty raiding.

From Time Magazine Archive

Presently she said, “I’ll tell you what that reporter’s after. He wants to get the horselaugh on us because he thinks we’re nothing but a bunch of hayseeds and no-’count country people.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck