In Stitches
Tight Clothes on a Fat Guy
I wanted to go cycling after work today, so I brought some cycling gear and my bike to work. At the end of the day, I changed into lycra. If you haven’t seen cycling clothes before, lycra is very tight. Well, I was just in the other room preparing my bike when a coworker looked in and was immediately in stitches. I am not sure why he was laughing but it was a little embarrassing. I didn’t know if I was overexposed, or he was laughing at me being fat. He even had to apologize to his daughter, who he was talking on the phone with. It confused me because he has seen me wearing lycra before. Additionally, when I called him out on it, he laughed even harder. Another coworker also laughed at my apparel. It wasn’t a good day for my self-respect.
Meaning
In stitches means laughing really hard, or uncontrollably. It makes me think that the person laughed so hard that they ripped this stomach. Indeed, it is an allusion to the feeling of being stabbed by needles when you are laughing hard.
Example: I went to the comedy club last night and the comedian had me in stitches.
Origin
In stiches was first used by Shakespeare in the Twelfth Night (1602), “If you desire the spleen, and will laugh yourself into stiches, follow me.” However, the phrase did not enter common vernacular until the early 20th century. After Shakespeare, the next instance of in stitches is in The Lowel Sun (1914), “There’s a new face among the members in Ben Loring, a natural-born comedian, who seems to have no difficulty whatever in keeping his audience in stiches of laughter and glee.” However, a number of sources claim that the phrase did not reappear until the 1930s.
For more English phrases and quotes, follow me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ESL-ToyBox-112152010890485