woe is me
woe is me
An exclamation of lamentation for one's misfortune. The phrase appears in the Bible (Isaiah 6:5) and Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1), and is typically used ironically or sarcastically. (If used in a straightforward way, it would sound old-fashioned and melodramatic.) A: "So you're annoyed that, because of your raise, you'll have to start paying higher taxes each paycheck?" B: "Yeah, I know, woe is me, right?" "O, woe is me! I have to get up at 8:30 in the morning for my high-paying job!" That's how you sound right now. Oh how the stars themselves conspire against me! My life is beset by all manner of ill fortune! O, woe is me!
See also: woe
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
Woe is me!
I am unfortunate.; I am unhappy. (Usually humorous.) Woe is me! I have to work when the rest of the office staff is off. Woe is me. I have the flu and my friends have gone to a party.
See also: woe
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
woe is me
Used to lament one's situation or fate.
See also: woe
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- Woe is me!
- hoo-rah
- excuse you
- boom goes the dynamite
- dynamite
- ah
- in-your-face