What does 'laugh' mean in this sentence?
"Remember that we could laugh you out of politics."
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Not enough context. We can make an educated guess but it would really help if you told who said this where and in what context.– user22427Commented Jul 4, 2019 at 14:35
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1 Answer
In this case, "laugh you out" is an uncommon (but recognisable) idiom for ridiculing you.
Effectively, this is a threat by the speaker to you, that they could make people laugh at you so much, that your credibility would be damaged and you would feel too embarassed to continue in your political career.
As mentioned in comments by @FumbleFingers, its use is more common in the form, "it was laughed out of court". This describes where the case made by the plaintiff or defendant were deemed so ridiculous that the judgement was swiftly delivered – possibly without ever going to a formal trial.
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1It's not so common as a transitive usage, but the passive form [Some frivolous legal action] was laughed out of court is well-established. Commented Jul 4, 2019 at 14:18
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I would have suggested that "laugh you out" is the same as "ridicule you out", with the sense of "push you out" or "force you out" by laughing at you. Commented Jul 4, 2019 at 14:45