have it bad

present singular third person has it bad · participle present having it bad · participle past had it bad · past had it bad

1. To be obsessed (with); to be enthralled (by); to be in love (with).

   Only because my brother seems to have it bad for you.

   2014, Gaby Triana -, Summer of Yesterday, →ISBN, page 146

   2 more examples

   Her smile was reward enough for the thought, and realizing it, he knew he had it bad.

   1993, Dana Stabenow, Dead in the Water, →ISBN, page 68

   I almost feel sorry for him. I mean, you can see that he has it bad—his eyes stay trained on my mother's mouth as she tilts the bottle back, watches as she swallows, as she licks her lips.

   2015, Elana K. Arnold, Infandous, →ISBN, page 42

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see have, it, bad. To have a difficult time; to suffer.

   He thinks he has it bad making new friends in school.

   2008, Judith O'Reilly, Wife in the North, →ISBN

   3 more examples

   ‘As if the girls didn’t have it bad enough without poncified bastards like you coming and murdering them.’

   1938, J. Curtis, They Drive by Night, page 121

   From strictly a continent standpoint, Africa still has it bad in places today, but for the other continents, overall, they are much safer places than in the past.

   2012, Don Collier, The Speed of Thought: And Ramblings on Human Evolution and Nature, →ISBN

   Kiko has it bad enough right now, with reporters stalking her day and night

   2013, Marianne Levy, Ellie May Can Definitely be Trusted to Keep a Secret, →ISBN