ungrateful

How (something) can you be?

A rhetorical question used to indicate that someone or something shows an extraordinary amount of some negative characteristic or trait. Now the banks are talking about selling off people's mortgages to vulture funds to make a quick buck. How greedy can you be? My roommate turned off the house's hot water heater over the winter break because he thought it would save energy, but all the pipes burst and the entire house flooded. Man, how dumb can you be?
See also: can, how

How (something) can you get?

A rhetorical question used to indicate that someone or something shows an extraordinary amount of some negative characteristic or trait. Now the banks are talking about selling off people's mortgages to vulture funds to make a quick buck. How greedy can you get? My roommate turned off the house's hot water heater over the winter break because he thought it would save energy, but all the pipes burst and the entire house flooded. Man, how dumb can you get?
See also: can, how
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

how selfish, stupid, ungrateful, etc. can you ˈget?

(spoken) used to express surprise or disapproval that somebody has been so selfish, stupid, etc: I can’t believe he didn’t even say thank you. How ungrateful can you get?
See also: can, how
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • How (something) can you be?
  • How (something) can you get?
  • how selfish, stupid, ungrateful, etc. can you get?
  • selfish
  • brain surgeon
  • there was/is something about (someone or something)
  • there's something about (someone or something)
  • there's something about somebody/something
  • tell (someone or something) by (something)
  • tell by
References in periodicals archive
Akeredolu who stated this during the presentation of cheques for the payment of compensation to owners of properties affected by the construction of roads in the State said despite the present administration efforts in prioritising workers welfare in the State, they have remained ungrateful to the state government.
Paris loan refund: Ondo civil servants are selfish and ungrateful a Akeredolu
People of Telengana should punish you for being so ungrateful," he tweeted.
Digvijaya, KTR engage in Twitter spat over KCR's 'buffoon' remark
And you know Father, while the Footballer is all over the place complaining about how the village people are cursing him describing them as ungrateful people who don't know what they want; the Ray Hay man former wife is just all over the place too causing trouble.
Lord, the Footballer crying too soon ooh!
'And now Pakistan being blamed for US failures in Afghanistan by an ignorant and ungrateful Donald Trump,' Imran tweeted.
Ignorant Trump blaming Pakistan for US failures in Afghanistan: Khan
BEIRUT: Future Movement head Saad Hariri Wednesday described Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's recent attack on Saudi Arabia as "ungrateful," and accused him of stirring Sunni-Shiite tensions ahead of the Ashoura holiday.
Hariri blasts Nasrallah for criticizing Saudi Arabia
President Erdoy-an took a brief break from a speech on Saturday to reprimand a group of subcontracted workers who demanded permanent jobs, telling them to stop being ungrateful.
Gov't orders 50 more luxury cars amid criticism of waste
"The Prime Minister went to America to look for jobs and the ungrateful one burnt his house.
ZAEV set the government on fire
Ungrateful wretches: Judiciary Chairman Sadeq Larijani (photo) says the Europeans are a bunch of ungrateful people.
Ungrateful wretches
(Yes, I know I did that last week but hey, don't be ungrateful.) Is it a) Channel 4, b) Channel 5, or c) Channel Tunnel?
WIN
CARDIFF CITY fans have hit back at Vincent Tan's claims about them being 'disruptive' and 'ungrateful' as they continue to oppose the club's controversial change of colour.
UNGRATEFUL, DISRUPTIVE... ... that's not true, insist Cardiff fans
The president said that one should not be ungrateful and should not say that there was nothing
Serzh Sargsyan: No one knows what would be Armenia's fate, but for its Sovietization
Summary: Tom Bower's autobiography claims that ITV is 'ungrateful' for Cowell's contribution to the network.
ITV 'ungrateful' of Simon Cowell
(column, January 10), I would like to voice my opinion on this article (being one of the nurses "dressed like a car mechanic".) Working in a community hospital covering wards and running a minor injury unit is a satisfying and enjoyable job, but we do experience the odd ungrateful, rude, ignorant, disrespectful etc casualty.
Nurses do their best to comfort patients; LETTERS
Death in Paradise Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm Every good TV cop needs a gimmick, and DI Richard Poole (Ben Miller) is no exception - he's terminally ungrateful.
On the case
The man thought about this, when he said, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful or anything, but ...
So you could love her