cry me a river
1
used to tell a whining person that one does not care
The idiom "cry me a river" is used to express skepticism or a lack of sympathy when someone is complaining or being overly emotional about their problems. It originated from the title and lyrics of a popular song by Arthur Hamilton, which was famously performed by Julie London. The song uses the imagery of crying a river as a metaphor for the exaggerated emotional distress of a breakup. The phrase has since become a common way to dismiss someone's complaints or to suggest that their emotional response is excessive.
- Cry me a river, I don't even have a cleaning lady.
- She's been complaining about that minor inconvenience all day; someone should tell her to cry me a river.
- When he grumbled about his workload, his coworker jokingly said, "Cry me a river; we're all busy."
- He's been whining about the weather for hours, and I finally told him to cry me a river.
- She was upset about losing a game, and her friend said, "It's just a game; cry me a river."