tale of woe

tale of woe
n. a sad story; a list of personal problems; an excuse for failing to do something.
I listened to her tale of woe without saying anything.
This tale of woe that we have all been getting from Kelly is just too much.

Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions. 2015.

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  • Tale of Woe and Misfortune — infobox Book | name = The Tale of Woe and Misfortune ( [ Tale of ] Woe Misfortune , Woe and Ill Fortune , Misery Luckless Plight ) title orig = Повесть о Горе Злочастии translator = Serge Zenkovsky image caption = author = Anonymous illustrator …   Wikipedia

  • tale — W3 [teıl] n [: Old English; Origin: talu] 1.) a story about exciting imaginary events tale of ▪ tales of adventure ▪ a book of old Japanese folk tales (=traditional stories) ▪ a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen ▪ a caution …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • tale — [ teıl ] noun count ** 1. ) a story about imaginary events or people: tale of: tales of bravery and romance 2. ) a spoken account of someone s experiences, especially when they are made to seem more exciting or unpleasant than they really were:… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • tale */*/ — UK [teɪl] / US noun [countable] Word forms tale : singular tale plural tales 1) a story about imaginary events or people tale of: tales of bravery and romance 2) a spoken account of someone s experiences, especially when they are made to seem… …   English dictionary

  • tale — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ long, rambling ▪ familiar ▪ amazing, bizarre, curious (esp. BrE), extraordinary, fantastic …   Collocations dictionary

  • woe — [[t]wo͟ʊ[/t]] woes 1) N UNCOUNT Woe is very great sadness. [LITERARY] He listened to my tale of woe... All around women wailed their woe or screamed abuse. Ant: joy 2) N PLURAL: usu with poss You can refer to someone s problems as their woes.… …   English dictionary

  • woe — n. archaic or literary 1 affliction; bitter grief; distress. 2 (in pl.) calamities, troubles. 3 joc. problems (told me a tale of woe). Phrases and idioms: woe betide there will be unfortunate consequences for (woe betide you if you are late). woe …   Useful english dictionary

  • woe — noun 1 literary (U) great sadness: a tale of woe 2 woes (plural) formal the problems and troubles affecting someone: They tend to blame all of Africa s woes on colonialism. 3 woe betide especially humorous used to warn someone that there will be… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • woe — noun 1) a tale of woe Syn: misery, sorrow, distress, wretchedness, sadness, unhappiness, heartache, heartbreak, despondency, despair, depression, regret, gloom, melancholy; adversity, misfortune, disaster …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • woe — noun 1) a tale of woe Syn: misery, sorrow, distress, sadness, unhappiness, heartache, heartbreak, despair, adversity, misfortune, disaster, suffering, hardship 2) financial woes Syn …   Synonyms and antonyms dictionary

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