glutton for punishment

Idioms  

1. Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work. For example, Rose agreed to organize the church fair for the third year in a row—she's a glutton for punishment. This expression originated as a glutton for work in the late 1800s, punishment being substituted about a century later.

---

Example Sentences

Six is a perfect number, and seven is a prime number, but only a glutton for punishment would put them together in front of a bunch of 13-year-olds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sheard is either a glutton for punishment or determined to prove his worth no matter how many times Narbonne has to start over.

From Los Angeles Times

Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment.

From Los Angeles Times

“I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment,” Hough said with a laugh during a video interview from Minneapolis.

From New York Times

If you’re an author who happens to be a glutton for punishment or, worse, an insomniac — or, disaster scenario: both — you might be familiar with a certain masochistic feedback loop.

From New York Times