misery



misery guts

An unhappy person who always complains. I don't like talking to Paul because he's such a misery guts and always squashes my good mood.
See also: gut, misery

Misery loves company.

Prov. Unhappy people like other people to be unhappy too. Jill: Why is Linda criticizing everybody today? Jane: Her boss criticized her this morning, and misery loves company. I should probably feel bad because my sister is so depressed, but I'm pretty depressed myself. Misery loves company.
See also: company, love, misery

put (one) out of (one's) misery

 
1. Euph. Fig. to kill someone as an act of mercy. Why doesn't the doctor simply put her out of her misery? He took pills to put himself out of his misery.
2. Fig. to end a suspenseful situation for someone. Please, put me out of misery; what happened? I put her out of her misery and told her how the movie ended.
See also: misery, of, out, put

put some creature out of its misery

to kill an animal in a humane manner. (See also put one out of one's misery.) The vet put that dog with cancer out of its misery. Please, put my sick goldfish out of its misery.
See also: creature, misery, of, out, put

put somebody/something out of their/its misery

1. to kill an animal or person because they are in extreme pain The horse's leg was badly broken, and the kindest thing was to put it out of its misery. Badly wounded himself, he put a gun in his buddy's hand and asked his friend to put him out of his misery.
2. to end someone's worry or something's suffering I thought I'd call her with the test results today and put her out of her misery. Business was so bad, they considered bankruptcy to put the company out of its misery.
See also: misery, of, out, put

a misery guts

  (informal)
someone who complains all the time and is never happy Of course, your father, old misery guts, wanted to come home after half an hour because he was bored.
See also: gut, misery

Misery loves company.

something that you say which means that people who are feeling sad usually want the people they are with to also feel sad On a bad day, she isn't satisfied till the entire family is in tears. Misery loves company.
See also: company, love, misery

put somebody out of their misery

to stop someone worrying, usually by giving them information that they have been waiting for I thought I'd call her with the results today and put her out of her misery.
See also: misery, of, out, put

put something/somebody out of their misery

to kill an animal or person because they are in a lot of pain and you want to end their suffering Both of its back legs were shattered and I figured the kindest thing would be to put it out of its misery with a bullet.
See also: misery, of, out, put

misery loves company

Fellow sufferers make unhappiness easier to bear, as in She secretly hoped her friend would fail, too-misery loves company. Words to this effect appeared in the work of Sophocles (c. 408 b.c.) and other ancient writers; the earliest recorded use in English was about 1349.
See also: company, love, misery

put someone out of his or her misery

1. Kill a wounded or suffering animal or person, as in When a horse breaks a leg, there is nothing to do but put it out of its misery. [Late 1700s]
2. End someone's feeling of suspense, as in Tell them who won the tournament; put them out of their misery. [c. 1920] Both usages employ put out of in the sense of "extricate" or "free from."
See also: misery, of, out, put

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
CortneyKORT-neeEnglish
Siavash-Persian, Persian Mythology
GretaGRE-tah (German), GRET-ə (English)Swedish, German, English
Desdemonadez-də-MON-ə (English)Literature
Rebeckahrə-BEK-əEnglish (Rare)
SeijaSAY-yahFinnish