take pity on (someone or something)
take pity on (someone or something)
To treat someone or something kindly due to feeling sympathy or compassion toward them, especially because of their misfortune or suffering. Oh, take pity on Bill—he's been sick all week. That's the only reason he's fallen behind in his work. The king took pity on the old beggar, who turned out to be a wizard.
See also: on, pity, take
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
take pity (on someone or an animal)
to feel sorry for someone or an animal. We took pity on the hungry people and gave them some hot food. She took pity on the little dog and brought it in to get warm.
See also: pity, take
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
take pity on
Also, have pity on. Show compassion or mercy to, as in Take pity on the cook and eat that last piece of cake, or, as Miles Coverdale's 1535 translation of the Bible has it (Job 19:21), "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye, my friends." This idiom may be used half-jokingly, as in the first example, or seriously. [Late 1200s]
See also: on, pity, take
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
- take pity
- take pity on
- offer (someone) (one's) condolences
- play with fire
- play with fire, to
- one in the eye for
- one in the eye for somebody/something
- one in the eye for someone
- be one in the eye for
- be playing with fire