punishment
a glutton for punishment
A person who continues to do things whose consequences they find difficult or unpleasant. I couldn't wait to finish college, but I soon found myself in grad school. I must be a glutton for punishment. Why does George keep getting detention? Is he a glutton for punishment?
See also: glutton, punishment
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
glutton for punishment
Fig. someone who is eager for a burden or some sort of difficulty; someone willing to accept a difficult task. Tom works too hard. He is a glutton for punishment. I enjoy managing difficult projects, but I am a glutton for punishment.
See also: glutton, punishment
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
glutton for punishment
Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work. For example, Rose agreed to organize the church fair for the third year in a row-she's a glutton for punishment . This expression originated as a glutton for work in the late 1800s, punishment being substituted about a century later.
See also: glutton, punishment
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
a glutton for punishment
If someone is a glutton for punishment, they keep on doing something which most people would find unpleasant or difficult. As well as the early starts riding and late nights working, this glutton for punishment is also studying for a degree. I know it's a big job to take on, but then I've always been a glutton for punishment. Note: A glutton is a greedy person.
See also: glutton, punishment
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
a glutton for punishment
a person who is always eager to undertake hard or unpleasant tasks.Glutton of — was used figuratively from the early 18th century for someone inordinately fond of the thing specified, especially when translating the Latin phrase helluo librorum ‘a glutton of books’. The possible origin of the present phrase is in early 19th-century sporting slang.
See also: glutton, punishment
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
a ˌglutton for ˈpunishment, ˈwork, etc.
(informal) a person who seems to like doing unpleasant or difficult things: You’re going to drive all the way to London and back in a day? You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? She’s a glutton for work. She stays late every evening.A glutton is a person who is too fond of food. In this idiom, it refers to a person who seems to be very fond of the thing mentioned.
See also: glutton
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
glutton for punishment, a
A masochist, a person who seeks out odious or onerous tasks, or habitually takes on more than is reasonable. The earliest version of this term was a glutton for work and dates from the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was used by Kipling in his story A Day’s Work (1895): “He’s honest, and a glutton for work.” Whether work is viewed as punishment or not is clearly up to the viewer. The OED, which cites a glutton for punishment only in 1971, makes no such judgment.
See also: glutton
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- a glutton for punishment
- a glutton for punishment, work, etc.
- glutton
- glutton for punishment
- glutton for punishment, a
- get (something) over with
- get it over with
- come to a bad end
- come to a bad/sticky end
- find (something) out the hard way