English

Phrase

in stitches

1. (idiomatic) Laughing vigorously; very amused; aching due to convulsive laughter.
   • 1918, Laura Lee Hope, The Outdoor Girls in Army Service, chapter 15:

     "I was just dancing with old Doctor Riley, and he kept me in stitches. Half the time he had almost to carry me around, I was laughing so."

   • 1955 May 15, "People", in Time:

     Leaving the White House after a unilateral chat with Coolidge, Actress Barrymore, in stitches from laughter, was confronted by perplexed newsmen wondering what was so funny.

   • 2004, Willis Barnstone, We Jews and Blacks, ISBN 9780253344199, page 59:

     I took a graduate seminar in close-reading of Dylan Thomas and Joyce, and among the smart students a nun and a rabbi kept us in stitches with their endless whimsy and scholarship.

Usage notes

• Often used with the verb keep.

See also

• stitch (noun, sense 8)