crying shame

noun

A situation that is considered to be a disgrace, or deplorable.

“It's a crying shame that so much money has been wasted on this pointless political campaign.”

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Meanings

nouncrying shame (plural crying shames)

plural crying shames

  1. idiomaticA situation that is considered to be a disgrace, or deplorable.

    It's a crying shame that so much money has been wasted on this pointless political campaign.

    2 more examples

    [T]hese brothels continued to be the crying shame of the community.

    1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 346

    Your table manners are a crying shame / You're playing with your food, this ain't some kind of game

    1984, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Eat It”, in "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
Cite this entry
APA

crying shame. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crying%20shame

MLA

“crying shame.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crying%20shame. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crying shame,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crying%20shame.

Source: crying shame on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.