bore (one) to death
To cause one to be extremely bored, to the point of distraction, frustration, or irritation. Today's lecture bored me to death. A: "Sorry for dozing off, but these old-timey movies bore me to death." B: "Fine, go back to sleep then." You need to work on your speech, or you're going to bore your audience to death!
bore (one) to tears
To bore one to the point of distraction, frustration, or irritation. The professor bored the whole class to tears. Politics just bores me to tears. You need to work on your speech, or you're going to bore your audience to tears!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
bore to death/tears, to
To be extremely tedious or dull. The literature abounds with epigrams concerning bores. Both of these clichés for being exceedingly boring allegedly date from the nineteenth century and are much duller than, for example, “Society is now one polished horde, formed of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored” (Byron, Don Juan), or “Bore, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen” (Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer