a sob story

sob story

A sad story told in an attempt to generate sympathy for the storyteller. Don't come in tomorrow without your final project. I don't want to hear any sob stories about how you forgot it at home.
See also: sob, story
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a ˈsob story

(informal, disapproving) a story that somebody tells you so that you will feel sorry for them, especially one that does not have that effect or is not true: Then she gave me another of her sob stories, this time about an argument with her boyfriend.
See also: sob, story
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • come it
  • come it (with one)
  • don't get me wrong
  • bank on
  • banking
  • don't beat a dead horse
  • all in (one's) head
  • can't see a hole in a ladder
  • (I) won't tell a soul
References in periodicals archive
She was filmed in floods of tears as she relayed a sob story about her own family.
FANS CRY FOUL OVER MISHA'S TV TEARS; Bosses accused of manipulating viewers to save her
But if a contestant's mother died of breast cancer when she was a little girl, that is hardly a sob story.
And if another contestant's wife died giving birth, that is hardly a sob story. Cole cries at true stories.
LET CHERYL HAVE A CRY
A sneak preview of tonight's show has leaked that there's a contestant with a sob story.
X FACTOR SPOiLER ALERT !!!