straight-face test

• straight face test

straight-face test (plural straight-face tests)

1. (idiomatic) A tongue-in-cheek test of the merits of an argument which asks whether it can be made with a straight face (without laughing).

   Synonyms: laugh test, giggle test

   • 2009 June 26, John Wellington Ennis, “Picking on Pelosi”, in HuffPost‎^[1], archived from the original on 2023-04-19:

     As such, her [Nancy Pelosi's] effort to distance herself from the CIA's conceit on torture should not be surprising or cause for outrage. To presume the benefit of the doubt with the CIA after countless destroyed interrogation tapes doesn't even pass the straight face test.

   • 2010 December 30, Garrett Epps, “Health Care Suits: Separating Law From Spin”, in The Atlantic‎^[2], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-02-02:

     A system of regulation might easily include requiring you to pay taxes if you choose to burden commerce; willful refusal to maintain adequate health coverage for yourself and your family is such a burden. To claim otherwise doesn't pass the straight-face test.

   • 2012 March 30, Jennifer Steinhauer, “Congress Extends Highway Funding With Stopgap Measure”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-20:

     "Some of the pay-fors," said Mr. [John] Boehner in a news conference, referring to offsets to pay for a bill, "I don't think pass the straight-face test, and we will deal with that when we get to conference." He declined to offer specifics.

   • 2020 January 21, Gene Healy, “Op-Ed: Trump impeachment arguments can't pass straight-face test”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[4], Los Angeles, L.A.: Los Angeles Times Communications LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-06-24:

     The good news for fans of legal combat is that the Senate trial promises to be entertaining. The bad news is that the Trump team's constitutional arguments can barely pass a straight-face test.

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