Meanings
plural sob stories
- derogatoryidiomaticA sad story, especially one intended to elicit sympathy.
Mr. Martin objected at first to the bastardization of my talent, but I gave him a sob story about needing money for lessons.
2006, Keith Donohue, The Stolen Child, →ISBN, page 561 more example
"Dis picture is called De Tale o' Two Cities, and it's de French revolution. It's about a feller vot takes anodder feller's place and gits his head cut off; and say, dere's a sob story in it vot's a vunder."
1922, Upton Sinclair, chapter 14, in They call Me Carpenter
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna sentimental story (or drama) of personal distress; designed to arouse sympathy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Dutch smartlap, tranentrekker
- smartlapsad story
- tranentrekkersad story
Finnish nyyhkytarina
- nyyhkytarinasad story
French histoire à faire pleurer dans les chaumières, histoire larmoyante
- histoire à faire pleurer dans les chaumièressad story
- histoire larmoyantesad story
German Schnulze, Schmachtfetzen
- Schnulzesad story
- Schmachtfetzensad story
Japanese お涙頂戴
- お涙頂戴 (onamida chōdai)sad story
Polish łzawa historyjka
- łzawa historyjkasad story
Romanian poveste lacrimogenă
- poveste lacrimogenăsad story
Swedish snyfthistoria, snyftare
- snyfthistoriasad story
- snyftaresad story
Cite this entry
sob story. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sob%20story
“sob story.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sob%20story. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sob story,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sob%20story.
Source: sob story on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.