Can't think of a word...

[Androxine Vortex]

I have a scene where two characters are talking with each other. It seems like they are angry at one another but in the end they both start laughing and you realize it was like two old friends insulting each other in good humor. The sentence I have is:

He threw his head back and gave a loud, bellowing laugh. He smacked his hand on the table and looked at Emon with an expression of ______

I'm not sure how to describe this kind of emotion/expression. I tried looking up synonyms for words like amusement (used that word twice in the previous paragraph so I'm trying to use something else) but didn't find anything useful. Imagine you saw an old friend and were kind of having one of those conversations where you both are saying things to each other that are negative and insulting but because you are old friends it is taken as a joke. I'm looking for a way to describe that emotion. This has me stumped and I'm so frustrated I can't think of anything.

(Watch the first person to respond will give me 10+ possible words I could use and then I realize how stupid I really am) Thanks in advance!

 

[Saigonnus]

Mirth, Hoopla, Merriment, Diversion, Hilarity?

 

[Saigonnus]

He threw his head back and gave a loud, bellowing laugh. He smacked his hand on the table and looked at Emon with an expression of ______

Perhaps a bit of a rewrite could help overcome the lack of a good synonym.

He threw his head back and gave a sharp bellowing laugh. He brought his palm down on the table hard and looked at Emon, his face reflecting the mirth of the other man.

 

[Zophos]

Something like faux indcredulity or dubious familiarity, maybe.

I've been trying to explain that for years. It's what my wife hands out on a regular basis when she's making jokes at my expense for the amusement of friends and calling me only by my last name.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Loud and bellowing are synonyms almost. Try this,

He threw back his head and let out a raucus laugh. Tears of laughter flowing down his cheeks, he slapped his hand on the table and looked at Emon with an expression of pure merriment.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Perhaps a bit of a rewrite could help overcome the lack of a good synonym.

He threw his head back and gave a sharp bellowing laugh. He brought his palm down on the table hard and looked at Emon, his face reflecting the mirth of the other man.

I think I will go with hilarity. Thanks a lot!

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Hi,

Loud and bellowing are synonyms almost. Try this,

He threw back his head and let out a raucus laugh. Tears of laughter flowing down his cheeks, he slapped his hand on the table and looked at Emon with an expression of pure merriment.

Cheers, Greg.

Thanks for the advice. Do you guys think I should change "loud, bellowing laugh" because they are almost the same thing? Does it bother you personally when you read a book where the author uses two similar adjectives?

 

[Donny Bruso]

I can't speak for anyone else, but it does bother me when authors do that. I know it isn't intentional, but it speaks to either weak vocabulary or laziness on the part of the author. I'm not trying to insult you, just offering up what goes through my head when I see it in a book. Thesauri are your friends, though.

 

[Shockley]

I would suggest rewriting the dialogue so the relationship becomes more obvious as times pass. From fairly serious insults to the ridiculous.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

I can't speak for anyone else, but it does bother me when authors do that. I know it isn't intentional, but it speaks to either weak vocabulary or laziness on the part of the author. I'm not trying to insult you, just offering up what goes through my head when I see it in a book. Thesauri are your friends, though.

No offense taken, I take it as constructive criticism. Believe me, when I write I have a thesaurus tab open all the time. Sometimes I don't even need it but I like using it to give me a wider variety of words to choose from. I guess I just made a poor choice of words. I didn't know that people didn't really like seeing two similar adjectives (synonyms I guess you could say) describing the same thing at once. I guess it would be like saying, "That house is huge and big!" so I think i understand. If I am going to use two adjectives to describe one thing then the two adjectives should be describing something different because then it becomes redundant.