Word for ...

I don't now of one specific word that would be suitable. There is one slang word, 'gobsmacked', but it doesn't really mean 'not knowing whether to laugh or cry'; it just means 'shocked'.

This is an interesting question, and I hope that someone will have some other ideas.

Hi,

Possibly bemused. It tends to stress the 'puzzled' aspect of the feeling.

Clive

I don't think there is one word specifically with that meaning.

You'll hear people say "I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!"

"I am/was of two minds whether to laugh or cry."

Thank you for all your help. : )

In fact, I used the word bemused today for that situation. My two "male" hamsters just had babies. On the one hand, it's funny. On the other... what do I do with them??

You could make a 'ham' sandwich, perhaps?

Clive

Okay, but you have to be the one to tell my daughters what happened to them, okay?

still bemused

Aaaaah cuuuuute.

Perhaps they are a gay adoptive couple?

Nona, you have not lived a full life until you are on the phone with a teenager in giggling hysterics at the pet store who is trying to describe to you how to locate hamster ***** so you can tell which is the mother, and which is the father, because I am supposed to keep the father from the babies.