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scream bloody murder

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scream bloody murder

 and yell bloody murder

Fig. to complain bitterly; to complain unduly. When we put him in an office without a window, he screamed bloody murder. There is something wrong next door. Everyone is yelling bloody murder.

See also: bloody, murder, scream

scream bloody murder

to shout or to complain very loudly Sometimes the baby screams bloody murder when we give her a bath. I'm so frustrated with the telephone company, I want to scream bloody murder.

Usage notes: sometimes holler bloody murder and yell bloody murder, with the same meaning

See also: bloody, murder, scream

scream bloody murder

Angrily protest as loudly as possible, as in When Jimmy took her teddy bear, Lauren screamed bloody murder, or Residents are screaming bloody murder about the increase in property taxes. The scream here may be either literal (as in the first example) or figurative, which is also true of invoking murder as though one were in danger of being killed. Versions of this term, such as cry murder, date from the 1400s.

See also: bloody, murder, scream

scream bloody murder

tv. to scream very loudly; to complain or protest loudly. She screams bloody murder every time I get near her.

See also: bloody, murder, scream