woe [is] {sb}
1
said to show sympathy for a person's difficult or unlucky situation
The idiom "woe is someone" has its roots in Old English and Middle English literature. It reflects a time when English speakers used more elaborate and poetic language to convey complex emotions and sentiments. In this idiom, "woe" refers to a deep feeling of sorrow, distress, or misery, and it is typically followed by "is" to indicate that the sorrow or distress belongs to someone. It is often employed to express a deep sense of sorrow, distress, or misfortune that has befallen someone, and it conveys a degree of empathy or sympathy towards that person's plight.
- Woe is Mary, for she lost her job and her car broke down in the same week.
- Woe is the nation, as it grapples with the aftermath of the natural disaster.
- She looked at her empty bank account, feeling woe is her.
- Woe is our team, having lost our star player to injury just before the championship game.
- The company's financial troubles had them all feeling woe is us.