laughing clown

plural laughing clowns

1. One of a series of clown figurines, typically from the torso up with laughing face and open mouth, which move from side to side as part of a fairground or sideshow game the aim of which is to insert balls into the mouth at the right time to win a prize.

   [H]e'd managed to con himself a job with a travelling showman and had left the district half-drunk on the back of a truck hauling one of those laughing clowns games.

   1994, Mike Hayes, Tell Us Anothree! More yarns from all around Australia, Sydney: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, published 2001, page 102