last laugh, to have the

have the last laugh

To ultimately achieve success after encountering adversity or doubt from others. After so many people dismissed her, Lisa had the last laugh by moving to Hollywood and becoming a well-known character actress.See also: have, last, laugh

have the last laugh

COMMON If you have the last laugh, you become more successful than someone who has laughed at or criticized you in the past. The singer is expecting to have the last laugh on his critics by selling over a million copies of his CD. She was mocked for her lack of political experience. But she has had the last laugh. Her party has increased its number of seats from 112 to perhaps 150.See also: have, last, laugh

have the last laugh

be finally vindicated, thereby confounding earlier scepticism. There are various proverbial sayings expressing this idea, such as he laughs best who laughs last and he who laughs last, laughs longest .See also: have, last, laugh

have the last ˈlaugh

(informal) be successful at something in the end, even though other people thought that this was not possible: When he invented this machine, everybody laughed at it, but he’s sold 10 000 of them. He certainly had the last laugh.See also: have, last, laugh

last laugh, to have the

To win in the end, after some earlier setbacks. This term is a slightly later version of a proverb recorded by John Ray in 1678, “Better the last smile than the first laughter,” which then became “He who laughs last, laughs best.” The same proverb exists in French, Italian, and other languages. There have been several modern plays on it, such as H. W. Thompson’s “He laughs best whose laugh lasts,” and Terry Cohen’s wry “He who laughs last is generally the last to get the joke.”See also: have, last