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sad

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a sad state (of affairs)

A particularly unfortunate, unpleasant, and/or upsetting situation or set of circumstances. Their company has been in a sad state after Jonathan took over. It's a sad state of affairs when you can no longer be sure how you're going to feed your children each night.

See also: sad, state

disappointed at someone or something

 and disappointed in someone or something

becoming sad because of someone or something. I am really disappointed at what you did. I am very disappointed in you. That was a terrible thing to do. They were disappointed in the outcome.

See also: disappointed

It is a poor heart that never rejoices.

 and It is a sad heart that never rejoices.

Prov. Even a habitually sad person cannot be sad all the time. (Sometimes used to indicate that a habitually sad person is happy about something.) Jill: I've never seen Sam smile before, but today, at his retirement party, he smiled. Jane: It is a poor heart that never rejoices.

See also: heart, never, poor, rejoice

sadder but wiser

Cliché unhappy but knowledgeable [about someone or something--after an unpleasant event]. After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and would never make the same mistake again. We left the meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever come to an agreement with Becky's aunt.

See also: but, sad, wiser

sorry sight

 and sad sight

a sight that one regrets seeing; someone or something that is unpleasant to look at. Well, aren't you a sorry sight! Go get cleaned up and put on some fresh clothes.

See also: sight, sorry

sorry to say

also sad to say

I regret telling you this Sorry to say, the violin was never found.

See also: say, sorry

a sad state of affairs

(spoken) also a sorry state of affairs

a bad situation that you find upsetting It's a sad state of affairs when schools don't provide a basic education for their students.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form a sad state: Things have reached a sad state when you have to pay a bribe to get something done.

See also: affair, of, sad, state

sadder but wiser

if someone is sadder but wiser after a bad experience, they have suffered but they have also learned something from it He bought a second-hand car and ended up sadder but wiser after a series of breakdowns and expensive repairs.

See also: but, sad, wiser

sadder but wiser

Unhappy but having learned from one's mistakes, as in Sadder but wiser, she's never going near poison ivy again. The pairing of these two adjectives was first recorded in Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).

See also: but, sad, wiser

sad sack

A singularly inept person, as in Poor George is a hopeless sad sack. This term alludes to a cartoon character, Sad Sack, invented by George Baker in 1942 and representing a soldier in ill-fitting uniform who failed at whatever he tried to do. It was soon transferred to clumsily inept civilians.

See also: sack, sad

sad

mod. poor; undesirable. This steak is really sad.

sad sack

n. a sad person; a listless or depressed person. Tom always looks like such a sad sack.

See also: sack, sad