cheap laugh

先ほどと同じ記事からもうひとつ表現を拾いたいと思います。

My niece and nephews, now their 30s, still remember Christmases at their grandparents', when we'd run the old Lionel train over "Farmer Jones" and his wife, little plastic figures who just happened to end up on the tracks. They thought it the funniest thing ever. So did I. That's why we did it for hours.
And I'm still good at the cheap laugh. Neighborhood kids have figured out I'm not an actual grown-up. If there's a hose, for instance, I will spray first, ask questions later. (I always say I could mess up a kid just as well as all my friends have theirs. I just haven't had the opportunity.)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/04/23/craig-wilson-take-child-to-work/2083615/
ここで扱うのはcheap laughという表現です。cheapというとすぐに「安い」を思い浮かべますが、cheapには「〈人・言動などが〉軽蔑に値する、低俗な、くだらない」という意味もあります。（『ウィズダム英和辞典　第３版』三省堂）cheap laughで「くだらない冗談」といったところでしょうか。cheapとlaughが共起できることを知らなかったのでおさえておきたいと思います。（Jakie）