The phrase “last laugh” refers to someone who succeeds or achieves victory after previous failures. Its origin dates back to an English play from 1607. Modern versions include “He who laughs last laughs best” and “He who laughs last, laughs longest.” The phrase is often used in situations where someone succeeds despite previous setbacks, such as in a sales competition.
If a person gets the “last laugh,” then they usually get something or are otherwise successful in an endeavor. This phrase in particular is often used to indicate that someone has failed in the past or was no longer successful at a particular endeavor previously. The idea of getting a “last laugh” is based on the idea that any person competing for a certain goal can laugh when they achieve it. In this sense, the person who laughs last is the one who achieves the ultimate victory, or who excels all others in completing a goal.
The origin of the phrase “last laugh” comes from a longer phrase that has appeared in different forms at various times. One of the oldest incarnations of the phrase can be found in an English play from about 1607 called “The Christmas Prince”, in which it is said: “Laugh better than he who laughs to the end.” This expression may have been in popular use at the time, but this is among the oldest known evidence of its use. While it doesn’t use the exact words “last laugh,” this expression has remained in use and has changed over time.
Newer versions of this phrase or idiom typically include more modern phraseology but impart the same basic sentiment. For example, modern expressions include “He who laughs last laughs best” and “He who laughs last, laughs longest.” Both of these expressions are used to denote the idea that someone who is the last person to laugh, or who has the longest laugh, is somehow the most accomplished or successful. This same concept has been shortened and extended to the simpler noun phrase, “last laugh,” which is typically attributed to someone, such as “he had the last laugh.”
In popular usage, a person who gets the “last laugh” is usually able to succeed despite previous failures, implying that they have been laughed at before. A salesperson, for example, might be part of a huge competition to get the most sales within a month to win a prize or pay a bonus. If that salesperson has been struggling to sell products for most of the month, then others may be “laughing” in victory as they sell more goods or make more money through sales. That salesperson may have the “last laugh,” however, if he manages to make an amazing sale in the last few days of the month, which allows him to win the contest.
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