付之一笑

fùzhīyīxiào
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to dismiss something with a laugh
  2. 2 to laugh it off
  3. 3 to brush off with a smile

Examples

Miànduì liúyán, tā zhǐshì fùzhīyīxiào.
Faced with the rumors, he just laughed them off.
Duìyú zhè zhǒng wúliáo de zhǐzé, wǒ fùzhīyīxiào.
I dismissed such silly accusations with a laugh.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Song dynasty memoir 《笔记》 by 陆游 (Lù Yóu): '妄想自古已然' — 'thus we see that court officials' delusions have always been so; one can only laugh them off.' From 'one laugh' () the four-character form crystallized into today's idiom.
usage
The phrase implies dismissing something so trivial or absurd that it's not worth a real reply — closer to English 'laugh it off' than to genuine amusement.

Stroke Order

zhī
xiào