sad

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Like this video? Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day!

a (kind of) reflection on (someone or something)

That which presents a particular kind of opinion about or informs the reputation of someone or something. The staff you hire to serve customers are the best reflection on your restaurant as a whole. Parents always want their children to be a positive reflection on them and their parenting. A: "I can't believe these landmarks are in such poor shape." B: "It's unfortunately a sad reflection on the economic state of our city."

a (poor, pathetic, etc.) excuse for a (type of person or thing)

Someone or something that utterly fails to adequately represent or function as a particular kind of thing or person. I would have been acquitted if that pathetic excuse for a lawyer hadn't bungled my case! He's a rotten excuse for a husband, but I have to admit that he's a great father. When I showed my friend my poor excuse for a soufflé, she just started laughing.

a sad sight

Some instance or situation that arouses an intense feeling of sadness or pity. It was such a sad sight to behold, having to watch the child be taken from her mother like that. As I entered the clearing, I came upon the sad sight of a deer that had been caught in a bear trap. A: "Well, you're a sad sight. What's wrong?" B: "Um, Shelly just broke up with me."

a sad state (of affairs)

A particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, or upsetting situation or set of circumstances. Their company has been in a sad state after Jonathan took over. It's a sad state of affairs when you can no longer be sure how you're going to feed your children each night. You talked to the accountant? OK, please tell me our finances aren't in a sad state of affairs his quarter.

it is a poor heart that never rejoices

proverb Even someone who tends to feel sad can find great joy, amusement, or delight in or about something. I'm sure this vacation will perk him up. It is a poor heart that never rejoices, after all.

See also: heart, never, poor, rejoice, that

it is a sad heart that never rejoices

proverb Even someone who tends to feel sad can find great joy, amusement, or delight in or about something. I'm sure this vacation will perk him up. It is a sad heart that never rejoices, after all.

See also: heart, never, rejoice, sad, that

sad boi

slang Sometimes spelled as a single word.

1. noun A sensitive young man who is apt to share his emotions, especially sadness regarding romantic relationships. No, I do not like Sam. He's a total sad boi who always looks like he's about to cry. A: "He told me that two of his girlfriends cheated on him—isn't that awful?" B: "Sounds like a bit of a sadboi to me."

2. adjective Describing or relating to such a young man. You just like Sam for his sad boi vibes. You can't get enough of his emo crybaby routine! Two to four in the morning should be universally recognized as sadboi hours.

sad boi hours

slang A nickname for a time of day, usually the overnight hours, when young men are most apt to express or ruminate on their sadness, especially over failed romantic relationships. "Sad boi" is often spelled as a single word. Two to four in the morning should be universally recognized as sad boi hours. Ugh, it must be sadboi hours—Robbie's texting me about how much he misses his ex. He's my best friend and all, but I need to get some sleep!

sad girl

slang

1. A female who feels or exudes sadness. My mood has been pretty all over the place lately. I'm just a total sad girl today. Of course you have a crush on Allison—you love a sad girl who matches your angsty vibe.

2. A female who cultivates an image or aesthetic based on an expression of sadness, however genuine or feigned. I've met her, and I doubt she's actually depressed—she's just a sad girl for the likes. Before I started therapy, I was a total sad girl all the time. You can tell if you look at my old blog posts—they were so gloomy and self-conscious back then.

sad girl hours

slang A nickname for a time of day, usually the overnight hours, when girls or young women are most apt to express or ruminate on their sadness. The term is sometimes used pejoratively of someone whose feelings seem performative rather than genuine. Two to four in the morning should be universally recognized as sad girl hours. Ugh, it must be sad girl hours—Rebecca's texting me about how much she misses her ex. She's my best friend and all, but I need to get some sleep!

sad girl vibes

slang A quality of sadness and low energy exuded by a female. The term is sometimes used pejoratively of someone whose feelings seem performative rather than genuine. A: "I hope Steph's OK. She was giving off some pretty intense sad girl vibes." B: "I know she's still broken up about the whole thing with Tom." The lo-fi aesthetic, the depressing acoustic songs—the whole film is just curated sad girl vibes, if you ask me.

sad sack

1. noun A hopelessly inept, blundering person who can't do anything right. That poor sad sack Sarah has been stuck in the same dead-end role in this company for years.

2. noun A sad, moping person, especially one who refuses to try and improve their mood or situation. Don't be such a sad sack—I know you're disappointed about missing the concert, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun tonight! He just sat there like a sad sack, sulking in the corner of the party.

3. verb To be in a sad, moping mood, especially while refusing to try and improve one's mood or situation. Usually used in the continuous tense; sometimes hyphenated. If you don't quit sad sacking back there, I'm going to turn the car around and drive us all straight back home! Bill's been sad-sacking around the office ever since he got passed over for the promotion.

See also: sack, sad

sad-ass

rude slang Detestable, pitiful, or depressing. Now that I've lived in New York City, I can't go back to the sad-ass town I grew up in. I just got a promotion, so it's time for me to move out of this sad-ass apartment and find something better.

sadder and wiser

More knowledgeable or experienced after having gone through something unpleasant or unfortunate. We came through the economic disaster sadder and wiser, hopefully better prepared for such disasters in the future. I left the dinner sadder and wiser, understanding just how entrenched her family's bigotry still is.

sadder but wiser

Knowledgeable or experienced after having gone through something unpleasant or unfortunate. We came through the economic disaster sadder but wiser, hopefully better prepared for such disasters in the future. I left the dinner sadder but wiser, understanding just how entrenched her family's bigotry still is.

too (something) for words

Having some quality to a such a degree that it defies explanation or description. The bride was too beautiful for words. Her gown, her makeup, her hair—just stunning. We have to put an offer in. This house is too perfect for words! Marie, you are too kind for words. How can I ever thank you?

too bad, so sad

A sarcastic expression indicating that one feels little or no sympathy toward someone's plight. So the billionaire CEO has to forfeit all his assets as punishment for defrauding half the country? Too bad, so sad.

disappointed at someone or something

and disappointed in someone or something

becoming sad because of someone or something. I am really disappointed at what you did. I am very disappointed in you. That was a terrible thing to do. They were disappointed in the outcome.

It is a poor heart that never rejoices.

and It is a sad heart that never rejoices.

Prov. Even a habitually sad person cannot be sad all the time. (Sometimes used to indicate that a habitually sad person is happy about something.) Jill: I've never seen Sam smile before, but today, at his retirement party, he smiled. Jane: It is a poor heart that never rejoices.

See also: heart, never, poor, rejoice, that

sadder but wiser

Cliché unhappy but knowledgeable [about someone or something--after an unpleasant event]. After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and would never make the same mistake again. We left the meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever come to an agreement with Becky's aunt.

sorry sight

and sad sight

a sight that one regrets seeing; someone or something that is unpleasant to look at. Well, aren't you a sorry sight! Go get cleaned up and put on some fresh clothes.

sadder but wiser

Unhappy but having learned from one's mistakes, as in Sadder but wiser, she's never going near poison ivy again. The pairing of these two adjectives was first recorded in Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).

sad sack

A singularly inept person, as in Poor George is a hopeless sad sack. This term alludes to a cartoon character, Sad Sack, invented by George Baker in 1942 and representing a soldier in ill-fitting uniform who failed at whatever he tried to do. It was soon transferred to clumsily inept civilians.

See also: sack, sad

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sad sack

an inept blundering person. informal, chiefly US

See also: sack, sad

a sad, poor, etc. reflection on something

a thing which damages somebody’s/something’s reputation: The increase in crime is a sad reflection on our society today.

too funny, sad, etc. for ˈwords

extremely funny, sad, etc: The man in the post office was too stupid for words.

sad

mod. poor; undesirable. This steak is really sad.

sad sack

n. a sad person; a listless or depressed person. Tom always looks like such a sad sack.

See also: sack, sad

sadder and/but wiser

Enlightened by an unfortunate experience; learning from one’s mistakes. The pairing of these two thoughts appears in the concluding stanza of Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798): “He went like one that hath been stunned,/And is of sense forlorn:/A sadder and a wiser man,/He rose the morrow morn.”

sad sack, a

A pathetically inept individual. The term comes from a cartoon character named Sad Sack, invented by Sgt. George Baker and very popular during World War II. Baker’s representation of a limp-looking soldier in ill-fitting, loose-hanging uniform, who tried to do his best but was neither smart nor lucky and consequently failed at whatever he undertook, caught on, and the name was transferred to the inept in civilian life.

sad state of affairs, a

An unhappy condition, unfortunate circumstances. The use of state of affairs to describe events or circumstances originated as the more ambiguous state of things, which was first recorded in 1555. Affairs began to be used about two centuries later. R. L. Green played on it in The Land of Lord High Tiger: “Sad affairs of State! Sad state of affairs! Affairs of a sad state.” It is sometimes put as sorry state of affairs.