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.

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Example Sentences

“Full Phil” took about an hour to reveal its point — that parenthood makes you a glutton for punishment — and the jokes are more gestures at where a joke should be.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

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 • Oct. 14, 2025

The budding chain would appear to be an opportunity for Taffer to put his money where his big mouth is, though you have to wonder if the man is, perhaps, just a glutton for punishment.

From Washington Post • Oct. 17, 2022

He is, if not quite a glutton for punishment, then at least someone with a hearty appetite for it.

From New York Times • Aug. 17, 2022

People thought he was a glutton for punishment, that he liked getting dumped.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green