poor boy
Americannoun
Regionalisms
See hero sandwich.
Etymology
Origin of poor boy
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kundanlal's life reads like an epic: a poor boy from Ludhiana, married at 13, who sold everything from timber and salt to lab gear and bullock-cart wheels.
From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025
In his campaign announcement, Santos didn’t mention any of that and instead highlighted his zeal in fighting for conservative principles in Washington and his background as “a poor boy of immigrant parents in Queens.”
From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2023
This info actually helped us realize that the poor boy has terrible seasonal allergies, and he’s now on a daily Zyrtec regimen — and much happier for it.
From The Verge • Jul. 13, 2022
Vladimir Putin learned his brutal code of war in the “sandpit streets” of Leningrad when he was a poor boy of perhaps 7 and got into his first fight with a neighborhood gang.
From Washington Post • Apr. 5, 2022
Her heart went out to the poor boy as he stumbled out the door, clutching his hands together as though they were burned.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
