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).

---

Example Sentences

The game is an embarrassment of riches for trivia buffs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Tuchel has an embarrassment of riches battling for the number 10 position behind Kane, the hub of England's World Cup operation.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

A director having two great movies out within one year is already an embarrassment of riches for the cinema-starved public.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2025

It’s no wonder the animated sequel proved to be an embarrassment of riches at the box office.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2024

Part of what he was wrestling with was, in fact, good news—an embarrassment of riches.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• plethora