poor-mouth

poor-mouth
{v.} To be constantly complaining about one's poverty; keep saying how one cannot afford the better things in life. * /Uncle Jack indulges in an awful lot of poor-mouthing, but we know that he has half a million dollars stashed away in a secret savings account./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • poor-mouth — /poor mowth /, v., poor mouthed / mowtht , mowdhd /, poor mouthing. Informal. v.i. 1. to lament or argue that one is too poor; plead poverty. v.t. 2. to declare (one s ability, power, position, etc.) to be inadequate or disappointing, sometimes… …   Universalium

  • poor-mouth — [poor′mouth΄, poor′mouth΄] vi. Informal to complain about one s lack of money; plead poverty …   English World dictionary

  • poor-mouth — poor′ mouth [[t] maʊθ[/t]] v. [[t] maʊθt, maʊðd[/t]] Informal. 1) cvb inf to plead or complain of poverty 2) cvb inf to disparage; bad mouth • Etymology: 1965–70; amer …   From formal English to slang

  • poor mouth — poor′ mouth n. cvb inf a plea or complaint of poverty, often as an excuse for not contributing to charities, paying bills, etc • Etymology: 1815–25 …   From formal English to slang

  • poor-mouth — ˈ ̷ ̷ ˌmau̇th, th verb Etymology: poor mouth, noun intransitive verb : to plead poverty as a defense or excuse usually poor mouths when it s his turn to contribute transitive verb : to speak disparagingly of * * * /poor mowth / …   Useful english dictionary

  • poor mouth — noun Midland : a profession or protestation of poverty often used with make when you ask him for a donation he makes a poor mouth * * * Informal. 1. a person who continually complains about a lack of money. 2. a plea or complaint of poverty,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • poor-mouth — 1. tv. to speak ill of someone. (See also bad mouth.) □ Please don’t poor mouth my brother. □ There’s no need to poor mouth your clothing. 2. in. to speak repeatedly of how little money one has; to plead poverty. □ She’s got money, but she’s… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • poor mouth — Informal. 1. a person who continually complains about a lack of money. 2. a plea or complaint of poverty, often as an excuse for not contributing to charities, paying bills, etc. 3. cry poor mouth. to complain, esp. habitually, about a lack of… …   Universalium

  • poor-mouth —    to ignore or refer to in unfavourable terms    A more consistent practice than the occasional denigration implied when you bad mouth:     Naturally the Chinese have always poormouthed the foreign built railways contribution to their economic… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • poor-mouth — {v.} To be constantly complaining about one s poverty; keep saying how one cannot afford the better things in life. * /Uncle Jack indulges in an awful lot of poor mouthing, but we know that he has half a million dollars stashed away in a secret… …   Dictionary of American idioms

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”