definitions

embarrassment of riches

An overabundance of something, too much of a good thing, as in All four of them have their own cars but there's no room in the driveway—an embarrassment of riches. This term originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of a French play, L'Embarras des richesses (1726).

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RELATED WORDS

plethora, profusion, surplus, oversupply, superabundance, overmuch, glut, superfluity, surplusage, overflow, surfeit, nimiety, overkill

Nearby words

embarras, embarras de richesses, embarrass, embarrassing, embarrassment, embarrassment of riches, embassador, embassage, embassy, embattle, embattled
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.