Etymology Journal · E
Enough to make a preacher cuss
Meaning
- Describes a situation that is so frustrating or irritating that even the most patient and holy person would lose their temper. It is used to justify losing one's cool.
Colorful, hyperbolic
Used in a sentence
- This traffic is enough to make a preacher cuss.
- Finding another flat tire this morning was enough to make a preacher cuss.
- The way that computer keeps crashing is enough to make a preacher cuss.
The backstory
This is a classic Southern idiom that leans on the cultural archetype of the mild-mannered, saintly preacher. It highlights the severity of a nuisance by suggesting it exceeds even professional piety.
Heard in
The South
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