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glutton for punishment
A person who continues to do things whose consequences he or she finds difficult or unpleasant. I couldn't wait to finish college, but I soon found myself in grad school. I must be a glutton for punishment. Why does George keep getting detention? Is he a glutton for punishment?
glutton for punishment
Fig. someone who is eager for a burden or some sort of difficulty; someone willing to accept a difficult task. Tom works too hard. He is a glutton for punishment. I enjoy managing difficult projects, but I am a glutton for punishment.
a glutton for punishment
someone who does a lot of something that most people find unpleasant I told my brother he could ask his best friend to come along to the movies with us - I really must be a glutton for punishment.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of glutton (a person who eats or drinks too much)
a glutton for punishment
(humorous) someone who seems to like working hard or doing things that most people would find unpleasant So as well as a full-time job and a family to look after, she's started taking an evening class. She's a glutton for punishment, that woman.
glutton for punishment
Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work. For example, Rose agreed to organize the church fair for the third year in a row-she's a glutton for punishment . This expression originated as a glutton for work in the late 1800s, punishment being substituted about a century later.