have the last laugh

• get the last laugh

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have the last laugh (third-person singular simple present has the last laugh, present participle having the last laugh, simple past and past participle had the last laugh)

1. (idiomatic) To be vindicated; to triumph despite predicted failure; to find success after defeat or setback.

   The author had the last laugh over the publishers who had rejected her now best-selling book.

• he who laughs last laughs best
• laugh all the way to the bank
• laugh on the other side of one's face
• the joke is on someone
• have the last word