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grief

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get (a lot of) grief (from someone)

To receive strong criticism, disapproval, or judgment (for something). I got a lot of grief from my parents over my decision to pursue a degree in art rather than law or medicine. I'm going to get grief from my boss for that accounting error I made last week. John stills gets a lot of grief for that time his pants fell down in the middle of class.

See also: get, grief, lot

give (one) grief

To criticize or tease someone. Once my brother hears that I hit a parked car, he'll give me grief about it for years to come. I'm pretty sure that Kevin likes Katie, so I keep giving him grief about it.

See also: give, grief

come to grief

Fig. to experience something unpleasant or damaging. In the end, he came to grief because he did not follow instructions.

See also: come, grief

Good grief!

Inf. an exclamation of surprise, shock, or amazement. Alice: Good grief! I'm late! Mary: That clock's fast. You're probably okay on time. Bill: There are seven newborn kittens under the sofa! Jane: Good grief!

See also: good

come to grief

(slightly formal)

to end badly His career as a lawyer came to grief after he became involved with gamblers.

See also: come, grief

good grief

(spoken)

I am very surprised "I have four computers at home" "Good grief. What do you do with them all?"

Usage notes: often used humorously, when someone pretends that a situation is more serious than it really is: Good grief, look at all this food! Are you feeding an army?

See also: good, grief

come to grief

to suddenly fail in what you are doing, often because you have an accident The Italian champion was in second position when he came to grief on the third lap.

See also: come, grief

give somebody grief

  (informal)

to criticize someone angrily Don't give me any grief - I've done all I can! (informal)

See also: give, grief

come to grief

Meet with disaster or failure. For example, The icy runway caused at least one light plane to come to grief. [Mid-1800s]

See also: come, grief

good grief

An exclamation expressing surprise, alarm, dismay, or some other, usually negative emotion. For example, Good grief! You're not going to start all over again, or Good grief! He's dropped the cake. The term is a euphemism for "good God." [Early 1900s]

See also: good, grief

come to grief

To meet with disaster; fail.

See also: come, grief