Stitch/Stitches (of laughter)

Since the 12th century, the word stitch has enjoyed several meanings. Firstly, it means a stab or prick with a sharp instrument, such as a needle or dagger. From around the same time, it was also used figuratively for a sharp pain in the side, as if caused by such a sharp instrument, and finally, its more common meaning as sewing movement made by a needle and thread. The association of stitches with laughter, however, is generally attributed to Shakespeare. To be in stitches is to be so convulsed with laughter that one feels a similar pain to being pricked in the side by a sharp instrument. Shakespeare used the expression in Twelfth Night (c. 1598) Act III, Scene II, “Laugh yourselves into stitches.”