cry on (someone's) shoulder
To tell one's troubles and woes to a sympathetic person. After the breakup, he cried on my shoulder all night long.
cry the blues
1. Literally, to sing blues music or in that style. There was this old man crying the blues at the bar last night; it was a really moving bit of music.
2. By extension, to complain, whine, or express grief, especially as a means of gaining sympathy from others. Many people will cry the blues over trivial inconveniences, while millions of others silently suffer real hardships every day.
cry uncle
To admit defeat and/or plead for mercy, especially in an informal physical contest of some kind. The brothers often play fought, but it was invariably the younger of the two who had to cry uncle by the end.
cry barley
To call for a truce, typically in a children's game. Don't cry barley now, you wuss! Let's keep playing Red Rover!
cry for the moon
To make an impractical or unreasonable request, especially one that is unlikely to happen. Oh, you want a later curfew, huh? Well, you're crying for the moon—11 o'clock is late enough!
cry foul
To protest against something that has happened. A: "How could you go through my things without asking?" B: "Oh, don't cry foul—I was just looking for my sweater and I found it. It's not a big deal." Dad cried foul when I forgot to put gas in his car after borrowing it.
cry in (one's) beer
To feel sorry for oneself. To bemoan one's fate or life. Don't cry in your beer, man. I know you're bummed about Amanda, but if she broke up with you, she's not the one.
cry on (one's) shoulder
To bemoan one's problems to someone else. We need to try to cheer Ben up—he's been crying on my shoulder all week. Can I please cry on your shoulder for a little bit? I just found out I failed my Bio exam.
cry over spilt milk
To be upset over something that cannot be fixed, often something minor. Please calm down, you're just crying over spilt milk. We already submitted the report, so we can't fix it now. A: "Why is Hannah so upset?" B: "Oh, she's just crying over spilt milk. She just fell down and ripped her stockings—she'll be fine."
cry stinking fish
To undermine one's own efforts. To put oneself down. Primarily heard in UK. A: "And I'm awful at doing reports." B: "Come on, buddy, don't cry stinking fish! You're so talented and have so much to offer the company—don't put yourself down!"
laugh all the way to the bank
To profit or benefit from something that is regarded by others as frivolous or stupid. That movie is dumb, but it's a big hit, and the studio executives will laugh all the way to the bank. They can mock us all they want because we'll be laughing all the way to the bank when our banana re-peeler is sold in stores nationwide.
cry uncle
Also, say uncle. Concede defeat, as in The Serbs want the Bosnians to cry uncle, or If you say uncle right now, I'll let you go first in the next game. This phrase originated about 1900 as an imperative among school-children who would say, "Cry uncle when you've had enough (of a beating)." By the mid-1900s it was being used figuratively, as in the examples.
laugh all the way to the bank
Also, cried all the way to the bank. Exult in a financial gain from something that had either been derided or thought worthless. For example, You may not think much of this comedian, but he's laughing all the way to the bank. Despite the seeming difference between laugh and cry, the two terms are virtually synonymous, the one with cry being used ironically and laugh straightforwardly. [c. 1960]