be a sorry sight

To be piteous, woeful, or wretched in appearance. Our son was a sorry sight after his six-month-long trip around Southeast Asia on his own. He said he had the time of his life, but to us, he just looked skinny, dirty, and threadbare. The house was quite a sorry sight. Trash and random junk were piled all over every room while scrawny, dirty cats prowled around, picking at various scraps of food. A: "Well, you're a sorry sight. What's wrong?" B: "Um, Shelly just broke up with me."