How to Use for laughs in a Sentence

for laughs

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  • The production is a zippy romp that plays its murders for laughs and leans into the physical comedy of its set-ups with aplomb.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Aug. 2024
  • There is a fair amount of gore, not all of it played for laughs.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2023
  • The line is played for laughs, but its meaning is pointed.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022
  • Dads just trying to do their best and, in turn, failing at it for laughs for the first two acts.
    Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2024
  • Performing for laughs seems to have kept Mr. Amer from going off the rails.
    Emily Bobrow, WSJ, 26 Aug. 2022
  • In 2018, the report said, footage of the shot to the groin was used, but seemingly more for laughs than for instruction.
    Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2024
  • In so many movies, a cat is run over for laughs or something bad happens to a dog for shock value.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 8 May 2023
  • The escape is played mostly for laughs, but a current of unease and even violence lurks in the scene.
    Tomi Obaro, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2023
  • There was a time when the Ducks and Beavers played mainly for laughs – who can forget that infamous scoreless draw from 1983?
    Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Then there are Valley of the Stupid Gasbags who will replay calls of these new Yankees voices just for laughs.
    Bob Raissman, New York Daily News, 15 June 2024
  • Bob Hope played a Casanova impersonator for laughs in the nineteen-fifties.
    Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022
  • It was played for laughs, but definitely also a moment of pure joy.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN, 11 Mar. 2023
  • When Reyes turned one into a fireplace, somebody in the neighborhood put an old recliner next to it for laughs.
    Cathy Free, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2023
  • The disaster that results might have been played merely for laughs on another show.
    Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2022
  • In previous episodes this year, Tanya was played almost entirely for laughs.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Americans have long had a difficult time accepting just how bleak the English are willing to get for laughs.
    Cord Jefferson, Variety, 22 Dec. 2023
  • For instance, Jules has some rather dangerous, even deadly powers, but they’re played mostly for laughs.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Such a thing is built (and in this case being sold) for laughs, intentional or otherwise — when all else fails, let the viewer drinking games begin.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 16 Feb. 2023
  • This sounds bleak, but based on Juicy’s super-cute mourning outfit — a half-up pair of black overalls, adorably distressed — the situation is being played for laughs.
    Helen Shaw, Vulture, 26 May 2022
  • Prepare yourself for laughs, tears and best of all, that rare gem of a contemporary gay character heading into his life's third act.
    Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 24 June 2024
  • Pine as the pure-hearted thief Edgin is in full-on charm mode, and Michelle Rodriguez’s brute barbarian fighter Holga is also often played for laughs.
    Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023
  • The scene is often played for laughs, with Curly smirking over Jud’s shoulder, slyly comparing the farmhand to vermin and making fun of his dirty fingernails.
    Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023
  • His uncle, a parish priest in Ohio, figures into another of the few religious anecdotes that DeSantis shares for laughs on the campaign trail.
    Tiffany Stanley, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2023
  • There is elegance, of course, and sensitivity; a wink or two of wit even breaks through, though Uchida is not exactly looking for laughs.
    New York Times, 22 Dec. 2022
  • Maybe not in Nora Ephron movies, but in Judd Apatow movies, there’s nudity and raunchiness that’s played for laughs and can also be really poignant.
    Kyle Buchanan, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Oct. 2022
  • Here, Harrelson and Theroux discuss playing the worst people for laughs.
    Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 1 May 2023
  • Instead, the writer and director will reportedly focus on a movie about climate change, a topic that seems about as ripe for laughs as murderers.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 4 Dec. 2023
  • Dressing for laughs Despite the film’s grim subject matter, there are unexpectedly comedic moments — not so much to offer respite but, if anything, to add to the jarring effect.
    Caitlin Chatterton, CNN, 2 July 2024
  • The late Kim Ki-duk’s 3-Iron, for example, also featured characters who break into houses for laughs not larceny, but built something richer and stranger with the premise that touched on class, voyeurism and desire.
    Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
  • At least one of the drivers behind the viral videos was only doing it for laughs, a revelation that is even more concerning when considering that there were other people on the road.
    Jody Serrano / Gizmodo, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'for laughs.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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