laughing jackass

American  

noun

1. kookaburra.

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laughing jackass British  

noun

1. another name for kookaburra

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Etymology

Origin of laughing jackass

First recorded in 1780–90; so called because of its loud braying sound

Example Sentences

They were again awakened by that irrepressible fellow, the laughing jackass, at early dawn, and on looking out from their leafy bower they found that the ground beneath their feet was dry.

From The Young Berringtons The Boy Explorers by Kingston, William Henry Giles

A laughing jackass perched on the fence at the side of the road heard Mr Villiers' hilarity, and, being of a convivial turn of mind itself, went off into fits of laughter also.

From Madame Midas by Hume, Fergus

The first time the author made the acquaintance of the "laughing jackass" was in the bird, fruit, and flower market on George Street.

From Under the Southern Cross or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa, and Other Pacific Islands by Ballou, Maturin Murray

As the Victorian galloped into the darkness, and the New South Welshman dashed wildly after the third horse, the laughing jackass in the invisible middle-distance gave his last grotesque guffaw at departed day.

From Stingaree by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

We could hear the notes of several birds, and louder than all the rest of their voices was that of the laughing jackass, which has already been described.

From The Land of the Kangaroo Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through the Great Island Continent by Knox, Thomas Wallace