embarrassment of riches

Idioms  

1. 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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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

embarrassment of riches

“There’s really an embarrassment of riches right now coming out of the open source labs.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

And when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll bona fides, Wings holds an embarrassment of riches.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2025

Ekitike opted to join Paris St-Germain but could not quite break through amid the embarrassment of riches in the attacking department.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025

A greatest-hits revue, devised by producer Cameron Mackintosh, the celebratory show is a true embarrassment of riches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025

From this embarrassment of riches, Francesco manages to pick a painter who’s sick of painting.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Related Words

• plethora