Har har is used aloud as an expression of mock laughter, used in a sarcastic way. When someone uses it, it usually means that they do not think what someone said was funny. Har har! is used in response to jokes, or clever comments. It is also used quite often as a response when someone is being made fun of or mocked themselves. Other common versions are hardy har har and har-dee-har. The simplest way to think of har har or hardy har har is as faking a laugh in a sarcastic way to indicate that one is not actually amused why what another person just said.
When har har or its variants are used, it does not necessarily indicate annoyance, although it often does. Just as often, har har is used in a good-natured way among friends. You might use it when someone makes a silly pun or tells a “dad joke,” for example.
It is claimed on a Reddit thread that the spelling of “har har” and its variants evoke the sound of laughter from old-timey comics or cartoons. This is especially true of Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. And, Hardy Har Har is also the name of a recurring character in the Yogi Bear cartoons from Hanna-Barbera, an anthropomorphic, depressed hyena who is the companion of Lippy the Lion. Hardy never laughs, so his name is quite ironic.
The actor and comedian Jackie Gleason also favored the expression “hardy har har,” which he used often on the televisio show The Honeymooners, often extending it, e.g. “har har hardy har har.”
Sentence Examples
“If you’re American when you go in the bathroom and American when you come out, what are you in the bathroom? European.” “Har har, so funny.”
“You think this is so funny, har har, but you wouldn’t be laughing if it happened to you.”
“Hardy har har, very funny. Yeah, I know I look ridiculous in this costume but it pays the bills.”
It’s not a fashion show.
“Har har, very funny.” “Dude. Looks like someone steamrolled Harry Potter.” — Lost: Deus Ex Machina (2005)
“Why can’t we bet with real money? Because somebody at the table doesn’t have any… real money.” “Har har har. Should I call?” — House of Lies: Exit Strategy (2013)
“Hey, aunt Mel, I thought you were dressing up for Halloween.” “Har har har. Seriously, you guys know what I’m supposed to be, right?” “Slutty investment banker.” — Melissa & Joey: A Fright in the Attic (2010)
“The bogeyman? Ooh-woo, ooh-woo-oo.” “Hardy-har-har. At least we’re on It’s trail.” — It (1990)
“Well, how do you do, governor? So nice meeting you. You’ve got some spinach on your tie.” “Hardy har har!” — Hairspray (1988)
“Nobody liked the Phox with a ”PH,” but nobody could ever get the better of him. One day, the sly Phox was tripping through the woods… “Oh, hardy, har, har.” “…when he chanced upon a mysterious box sitting in an open glade. On its top was written this strange legend…” — Dudley Do-Right (1999)