Jump to:

• poor mouth
  poor mouth

  noun

  a person who continually complains about a lack of money.
• poor-mouth
  poor-mouth

  verb (used without object)

  to lament or argue that one is too poor; plead poverty.

poor mouth

¹ American  

[poor mohth] / ˈpʊər ˌmoʊθ /

noun

Informal.

1. a person who continually complains about a lack of money.

2. a plea or complaint of poverty, often as an excuse for not contributing to charities, paying bills, etc.

---

idioms

1. cry poor mouth, to complain, especially habitually, about a lack of money. Also talk a poor mouth.

poor-mouth ² American  

[poor-mouth] / ˈpʊərˌmaʊθ /

verb (used without object)

poor-mouthed, poor-mouthing

1. to lament or argue that one is too poor; plead poverty.

---

verb (used with object)

poor-mouthed, poor-mouthing

1. to declare (one's ability, power, position, etc.) to be inadequate or disappointing, sometimes as an intentional understatement; downplay.

   We know you're just poor-mouthing your skill at playing bridge—you're a good player.

2. bad-mouth.

poor mouth British  

noun

1. unjustified complaining, esp to excite sympathy

   she always has the poor mouth

---

verb

1. informal to speak of disparagingly; decry

Etymology

Origin of poor mouth¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Origin of poor-mouth²

1965–70; originally in verb phrases put up a poor mouth, make a poor mouth

Example Sentences

We are not going to cry the poor mouth, other than to say the reality of this challenge is too much.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2011

But what is making Mancini put on the poor mouth?

From The Guardian • Sep. 24, 2010

After a few seconds of immobility, he tried to breathe: he put out his lips, opened his poor mouth, like a little bird opening its beak to get a last mouthful of air.

From Doctor Pascal by Serrano, Mary J. (Mary Jane)

And yet I am told that the old woman was not accustomed to "make a poor mouth," as the saying goes.

From Home-Life of the Lancashire Factory Folk during the Cotton Famine by Waugh, Edwin

He had frequently spoken of his affairs as not very prosperous; was always, in fact, making a "sort of a poor mouth."

From The Two Wives Or, Lost and Won by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)

Related Words

• curtail
• decrease
• diminish
• downplay
• lessen
• play down
• reduce
• trivialize
• underestimate