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

See Examples For:

laughing jackass

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)

Another bird peculiar to Australia is the 'giant kingfisher,' or 'piping crow,' or 'musical magpie,' or 'settler's clock,' or, to use the term everywhere applied, 'the laughing jackass.'

From Australian Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil by Willoughby, Howard

The laughing jackass is a very sociable bird.

From Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad by Dale, Daphne

Indeed, it was nearly dark already, and in the nebulous middle-distance a laughing jackass was indulging in his evening peal.

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

And the laughing jackass is a Victorian bird.

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