Meanings
proverb
- Things are not as bad as they seem.
Some people console themselves with the thought that, basically, worse things happen at sea: in middle-class Britain today, particularly familied fortysomethings, it’s Chicken-Licken time.
2015 September 13, Euan Ferguson, “The week in TV: Doctor Foster; Beck; Ballers; Hunted; The Queen’s Longest Reign: Elizabeth and Victoria”, in The Observer
Translations
Arabic أَسْوَأُ أَمُورٍ تَحْدُثُ فِي البَحَر
- أَسْوَأُ أَمُورٍ تَحْدُثُ فِي البَحَر (ʔaswaʔu ʔamūrin taḥduṯu fī l-baḥar)Translations
Finnish hätä ei ole tämän näköinen
- hätä ei ole tämän näköinenTranslations
French on a connu pire, il y a pire dans la vie
- on a connu pireTranslations
- il y a pire dans la vieTranslations
German (es) könnte schlimmer sein
- (es) könnte schlimmer seinTranslations
Hungarian több is veszett Mohácsnál
- több is veszett MohácsnálTranslations
Italian non e la fine del mondo, non è la fine del mondo
- non e la fine del mondoTranslations
- non è la fine del mondoTranslations
Polish mogłoby być gorzej
- mogłoby być gorzejTranslations
Spanish más se perdió en Cuba, que todos los males sean esos
- más se perdió en CubaTranslations
- que todos los males sean esosTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
worse things happen at sea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worse%20things%20happen%20at%20sea
MLA
“worse things happen at sea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worse%20things%20happen%20at%20sea. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “worse things happen at sea,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worse%20things%20happen%20at%20sea.
Source: worse things happen at sea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.