down in the mouth

down in the mouth

Visibly sad or depressed. Molly's been moping around all week, and I have no idea why she's so down in the mouth. Rob has been down in the mouth ever since Gloria broke up with him. He's been down in the mouth ever since he found out he didn't get the job.

See also: down, mouth

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

down in the mouth

BRITISH, INFORMAL

If you are down in the mouth, you feel unhappy. George seemed a bit down in the mouth yesterday. The bad news left her feeling really down in the mouth.

See also: down, mouth

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

down in the mouth

(of a person or their expression) unhappy or dejected. informal

See also: down, mouth

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

down in the ˈmouth

(informal) unhappy and depressed: Why is she looking so down in the mouth?

See also: down, mouth

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

down in the mouth

Sad, unhappy. The term refers to a mournful facial expression, with the corners of the mouth drawn down. Known by the mid-seventeenth century, it appears in print in Bishop Joseph Hall’s Cases of Conscience (1649): “The Roman Orator was down in the mouth, finding himselfs thus cheated by the moneychanger.” Occasionally it appeared with at instead of in (“He’ll never more be down-at-mouth,” Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Dante and His Circle, 1850), a usage that is now obsolete. See also down in the dumps.

See also: down, mouth

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer