sob story

sob story
1. an excessively sentimental human-interest story.
2. an alibi or excuse, esp. one designed to arouse sympathy: Instead of a raise, the boss gave us another sob story about her expenses.
[1915-20]

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sob story — {n.} A story that makes you feel pity or sorrow; a tale that makes you tearful. * /The beggar told us a long sob story before he asked for money./ * /The movie is based on a sob story, but people love it./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • sob story — {n.} A story that makes you feel pity or sorrow; a tale that makes you tearful. * /The beggar told us a long sob story before he asked for money./ * /The movie is based on a sob story, but people love it./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • sob story — sob stories N COUNT You describe what someone tells you about their own or someone else s difficulties as a sob story when you think that they have told you about it in order to get your sympathy. Any sob story moved Jarvis to generosity …   English dictionary

  • sob story — sob .story n informal a story, especially one that is not true, that someone tells you in order to make you feel sorry for them ▪ a sob story about how she lost all her money …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sob story — sob ,story noun count INFORMAL a story that someone tells in order to get sympathy …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • sob story — ► NOUN informal ▪ a story intended to arouse sympathy …   English terms dictionary

  • sob story — ☆ sob story n. Informal a very sad story, esp. an account of personal troubles that is meant to arouse sympathy …   English World dictionary

  • sob story — noun a sentimental story (or drama) of personal distress; designed to arouse sympathy • Syn: ↑sob stuff • Hypernyms: ↑narrative, ↑narration, ↑story, ↑tale * * * noun, pl ⋯ ries [count] informal : a sad story about yourself t …   Useful english dictionary

  • sob story — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms sob story : singular sob story plural sob stories informal a story that someone tells in order to get sympathy …   English dictionary

  • sob\ story — noun A story that makes you feel pity or sorrow; a tale that makes you tearful. The beggar told us a long sob story before he asked for money. The movie is based on a sob story, but people love it …   Словарь американских идиом

  • sob-story — /ˈsɒb stɔri/ (say sob stawree) noun Colloquial 1. a story full of sentiment and pathos. 2. an excuse: he arrived very late and gave them a sob story about a broken clock …  

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