放声大笑

    Drain是“排水系统”，laugh like a drain是什么意思呢？请看对话：

    A: Did you explain to Mary why you were late for dinner yesterday?

    B: I told her what happened and she laughed like a drain.

    Note: This idiom, mostly used in Britain and Australia, means to “laugh coarsely or loudly, especially at the discomfort of others.” It originated in Britain from around the time of WWII. It is first recorded by Eric Partridge in a dictionary of forces’ slang 1939-45, 1948. He describes it as “wardroom and also army officers’ slang.” The reason why drain was picked for this simile isn’t clear. Most similes include items that especially display the property being described, e.g., as white as snow. Drains don’t immediately make one think of laughter, although the gurgling sound might have been thought of as being similar to chuckling.