Etymology Journal · W
When it rains, it pours
Meaning
- Used when multiple bad things—or sometimes good things—happen all at once. It captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by a sudden deluge of events.
Resigned, observant
Used in a sentence
- My car broke down, I lost my wallet, and my boss fired me; when it rains, it pours.
- We had five people win the lottery in the same county today, truly, when it rains, it pours.
- First the roof leaked, then the water heater died, when it rains, it pours.
The backstory
The phrase was famously used in a 1911 advertising campaign for Morton Salt, illustrating that their salt flowed freely even in damp weather. It eventually became a standard metaphor for luck running in clusters.
Heard in
Nationwide
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