"cry someone a river" meaning in All languages combined

See cry someone a river on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Audio: en-au-cry someone a river.ogg Forms: cries someone a river [present, singular, third-person], crying someone a river [participle, present], cried someone a river [participle, past], cried someone a river [past]
Etymology: Probably from the song Cry Me a River (1953). Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} cry someone a river (third-person singular simple present cries someone a river, present participle crying someone a river, simple past and past participle cried someone a river)
  1. (idiomatic, often sarcastic) To weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person. Tags: idiomatic, often, sarcastic Related terms: build a bridge and get over it, crocodile tears, Crimea river, crying game Translations (to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person): pillittää (Finnish), voi kyynel [interjection] (Finnish), jemandem ordentlich was vorheulen (German), piagnucolare (Italian), popłakać się [perfective] (Polish), tchoûler come ene Madlinne (Walloon)
    Sense id: en-cry_someone_a_river-en-verb-zh-508Lf Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Walloon translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 84 16 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 86 14 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 86 14 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 91 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 89 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 81 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 89 11 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 88 12 Disambiguation of Terms with Walloon translations: 84 16 Disambiguation of 'to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person': 82 18
  2. (idiomatic, usually sarcastic, by extension) To try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling. Tags: broadly, idiomatic, sarcastic, usually Translations (to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling): kitistä (Finnish), auf die Tränendrüse drücken (German), nie popłacz się [perfective] (Polish), qué pena me das (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-cry_someone_a_river-en-verb-BapSJOjU Disambiguation of 'to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling': 18 82

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_text": "Probably from the song Cry Me a River (1953).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cries someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crying someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cried someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cried someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "cry someone a river (third-person singular simple present cries someone a river, present participle crying someone a river, simple past and past participle cried someone a river)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "91 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "85 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "81 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "89 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "88 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "84 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Walloon translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 March 4, Michele Hanson, “I cry over anything lately”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "It is rather shaming to be quite so wet over nothing in particular, but at least Fielding does it too. He cries gallons over slow-motion bits at the ends of films, especially Gladiator, and begins to worship Roman values, then Italian footballers kissing in slo-mo to the strains of Nessun Dorma. Sniffle, sniffle. And QPR being relegated in 1996. He can cry you a river over that one, and over a darling little clump of daffodils growing by the traffic island.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person."
      ],
      "id": "en-cry_someone_a_river-en-verb-zh-508Lf",
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "weep",
          "weep"
        ],
        [
          "profuse",
          "profuse"
        ],
        [
          "excessive",
          "excessive"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often sarcastic) To weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "word": "build a bridge and get over it"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "word": "crocodile tears"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "word": "Crimea river"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "word": "crying game"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "often",
        "sarcastic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "word": "pillittää"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "tags": [
            "interjection"
          ],
          "word": "voi kyynel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "word": "jemandem ordentlich was vorheulen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "word": "piagnucolare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "popłakać się"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "пла́каться в жиле́тку (plákatʹsja v žilétku, literally “cry into a waistcoat”)",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "82 18",
          "code": "wa",
          "lang": "Walloon",
          "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
          "word": "tchoûler come ene Madlinne"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968 October 3, A. B. Geraci, “Letter to Editor: PAT Should End Its Free Passes”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 2008-10-20, page 16:",
          "text": "Port Authority Transit should cry me a river. Before raising fares it should cut an unnecessary expense.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling."
      ],
      "id": "en-cry_someone_a_river-en-verb-BapSJOjU",
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "sympathy",
          "sympathy"
        ],
        [
          "complain",
          "complain"
        ],
        [
          "snivel",
          "snivel"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, usually sarcastic, by extension) To try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic",
        "sarcastic",
        "usually"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "18 82",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
          "word": "kitistä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "18 82",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
          "word": "auf die Tränendrüse drücken"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "18 82",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "nie popłacz się"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "18 82",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
          "word": "qué pena me das"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-cry someone a river.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/29/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton song)"
  ],
  "word": "cry someone a river"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Walloon translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from the song Cry Me a River (1953).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cries someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crying someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cried someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cried someone a river",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "cry someone a river (third-person singular simple present cries someone a river, present participle crying someone a river, simple past and past participle cried someone a river)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "build a bridge and get over it"
    },
    {
      "word": "crocodile tears"
    },
    {
      "word": "Crimea river"
    },
    {
      "word": "crying game"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English sarcastic terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 March 4, Michele Hanson, “I cry over anything lately”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "It is rather shaming to be quite so wet over nothing in particular, but at least Fielding does it too. He cries gallons over slow-motion bits at the ends of films, especially Gladiator, and begins to worship Roman values, then Italian footballers kissing in slo-mo to the strains of Nessun Dorma. Sniffle, sniffle. And QPR being relegated in 1996. He can cry you a river over that one, and over a darling little clump of daffodils growing by the traffic island.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "weep",
          "weep"
        ],
        [
          "profuse",
          "profuse"
        ],
        [
          "excessive",
          "excessive"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often sarcastic) To weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "often",
        "sarcastic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English sarcastic terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968 October 3, A. B. Geraci, “Letter to Editor: PAT Should End Its Free Passes”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, retrieved 2008-10-20, page 16:",
          "text": "Port Authority Transit should cry me a river. Before raising fares it should cut an unnecessary expense.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sarcastic",
          "sarcastic"
        ],
        [
          "sympathy",
          "sympathy"
        ],
        [
          "complain",
          "complain"
        ],
        [
          "snivel",
          "snivel"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, usually sarcastic, by extension) To try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "idiomatic",
        "sarcastic",
        "usually"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-cry someone a river.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/29/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/En-au-cry_someone_a_river.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "word": "pillittää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "tags": [
        "interjection"
      ],
      "word": "voi kyynel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "word": "jemandem ordentlich was vorheulen"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "word": "piagnucolare"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "popłakać się"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "пла́каться в жиле́тку (plákatʹsja v žilétku, literally “cry into a waistcoat”)",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person"
    },
    {
      "code": "wa",
      "lang": "Walloon",
      "sense": "to weep profusely or excessively in the presence of another person",
      "word": "tchoûler come ene Madlinne"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
      "word": "kitistä"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
      "word": "auf die Tränendrüse drücken"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "nie popłacz się"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to try to obtain the sympathy of another person by complaining or sniveling",
      "word": "qué pena me das"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Cry Me a River (Arthur Hamilton song)"
  ],
  "word": "cry someone a river"
}

Download raw JSONL data for cry someone a river meaning in All languages combined (5.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.