beggar (all) description
beggar (all) description
proverb To defy attempts at description; to be difficult or impossible to describe or explain. My mother loves decorating for Christmas, so during the holidays, her house is fit for Santa himself. It truly beggars description. My boss's incompetence is astounding. It truly beggars all description.
See also: beggar, description
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
beggar (all) description
to defy description; to be unable to be described. The house was a horrible mess. The place beggared description. Our reaction to the proposal beggars description. We were deeply disturbed for days.
See also: beggar, description
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
beggar description
Defy or outdo any possible description, as in The stage set was so elaborate, it beggared description. This term, alluding to the idea that words are insufficient to do something justice, was already used by Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra (2:2), "For her own person It beggared all description."
See also: beggar, description
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
- beggar description
- teach a man to fish
- it takes a village
- village
- the best-laid plans
- the best-laid plans go astray
- the best-laid plans of mice and men
- best-laid plans go astray, the
- bad habits die hard
- after a storm comes a calm