Origin of a saying

Exit

Does anybody know the origins of the following phrase(s):

"I broke my heart laughing"
"I was breaking my sh!t laughing"
"He was breaking his bollix laughing"

I was trying to explain the phrase to a non-Irish person, and they asked "Why 'breaking'?" and i was stumped too. The phrase doesn't make much sense. Anyone know where it comes from?

is_that_so

Here's a definition I found for heart.

I'd say they are based on the idea of "dying laughing" or it could be to do with the idea of laughing heartily - i.e. "with a lot of heart". It could also be connected to "split your sides with laughter" - i.e. to physically split your sides.

Not sure about the local coloured versions though. :rolleyes:
I reckon that's just a touch of bravado.

"I burst me ...... laughing."