How can you laugh ruefully?

Answer 1

Imagine this:

You're watching television; you remember you have to call someone and you go to get the phone. It isn't in its base, so you look all over the place for it, loudly reminding everyone in sight how you keep telling them to put it back when they've used it.

You pass the tv and the show you were watching has finished; you point the remote to turn off the set. Nothing happens.

You discover you're trying to turn the television off with the phone.

You laugh ruefully.

Well, I did, when it happened to me last night. Laughing ruefully is when you laugh out of a mixture of amusement and embarrassment.