poor mouth


Also found in: Financial, Idioms.

poor mouth

n
unjustified complaining, esp to excite sympathy: she always has the poor mouth .
vb (tr)
informal to speak of disparagingly; decry
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

poor′ mouth`



n.
a plea or complaint of poverty, often as an excuse for not contributing to charities, paying bills, etc.
[1815–25]

poor′-mouth`

(-maʊθ)

v. (-maʊθt, -maʊðd)
Informal. v.i.
1. to plead or complain of poverty.
v.t.
2. to disparage; bad-mouth.
[1965–70; Amer.]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
"Pigs MAY whistle, but they've poor mouths for it," said Miss Cornelia.
In them days, when you-all come around makin' poor mouths..." He heaved a sigh of resignation.
Montrose was recently putting on the poor mouth about being strapped for cash and pleading with the Government to increase the TV licence fee.
He arranged for Mr Pilbeam, a model railway enthusiast, to go to hospital where doctors described him as having "very poor mouth care", with a "hard, yellowish-green thrush".
The bankers are now putting on the poor mouth again claiming they can't live with the [euro]500,000 pay cap and want bonuses or they might have to take their expertise elsewhere.
A slight redness on the gingival margins around the implants due to plaque retention caused by poor mouth hygiene.
This certainly reflects our experience where we found that nursing staff can be motivated to be more actively involved in mouth care if they are aware of the association between poor mouth care, inadequate nutrition and pneumonia.
She then examines the place of Hiberno-English in literature, including James Joyce's Ulysses, Flann O'Brien's The Best of Myles and The Poor Mouth, Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island and Translations by Brian Friel.
It was the same vivid humour of his books, The Third Policeman, a mad satirical thriller where all the policeman are fat and of The Poor Mouth, a merciless look at Irish Life.
He added: "We are not going to cry the poor mouth, other than to say the reality of this challenge is too much.
Elsewhere, Murray accuses O'Casey of putting "on the poor mouth" (292), and where have we heard this before?